Chaplain on ride-along likely saves cop's life after suspect puts him in choke hold

(THE BLAZE) – A North Carolina police officer thanked both God and his friend — a chaplain trained in martial arts — that he was still alive after a desperate suspect with a long rap sheet placed him in a choke hold, bodycam footage indicates.

Last October, Scott Wilkos, a retired firefighter who now volunteers with Emergency Chaplains in Durham County, decided to celebrate his 52nd birthday in the best way he knew how: riding along with Durham Police Officer J.T. Rose, a friend he has known for more than eight years.

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Wilkos rode shotgun on that fall day as Rose went about his usual patrol. At one point, the two spotted a vehicle apparently traveling more than 100 mph. Without engaging in a high-speed chase, Rose went after the vehicle. He and Wilkos soon found it crashed along a 15-501 exit ramp near Cornwallis Road in Durham.

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