Officer shot during traffic stop saved by Good Samaritan, fellow officers

VALLEY BROOK, Okla. -- A police officer in Oklahoma narrowly escaped with his life after he was shot by a driver he had pulled over.

A police officer in Oklahoma narrowly escaped with his life after he was shot by a driver he had pulled over, thanks to a Good Samaritan and a fellow officer.

Valley Brook Police Officer Brian Southerland pulled over the driver of a pickup truck who he said had been driving erratically near I-240 and Pole Road on Sunday, KOCO reports.

Southerland was getting out of his patrol car when the driver opened fire. Dashcam video shows he ran for cover as the bullets flew and pickup truck speeding away.

Investigators said one of those bullets pierced a major artery in Southerland's leg.

Three minutes later, another driver stopped in front over his patrol car to see if the officer needed help. When he saw Southerland had been shot, he ran back to his vehicle and grabbed a cross bow string and a shirt to make a tourniquet.

Another Valley Brook police officer, Darren Johnson, also stopped to help the Good Samaritan tend to Southerland.

"I located the wound and was able to put pressure on that area with my finger," Johnson said. "Anytime an officer is shot, I look at it as they're all my brothers and sisters. I truly appreciate the citizen who stopped and helped out."

Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy Johnny Berryman also stopped to help. He used a kit to stop the bleeding before paramedics arrived and took the officer to the hospital.

Southerland is expected to be OK. Police later arrested the driver during another traffic stop.