Man who Attempted to Shoot Orlando Cop: “I Used Poor Judgement”

A man who tried to shoot a Orlando police officer after the two got into a fight sparked by a traffic citation in the Baldwin Park area Wednesday, has been arrested.

63-year-old William Jasper Cates, a white male, was booked into the Orlando County Jail earlier on Thursday.  He has been charged with several counts, including attempted homicide on a law enforcement officer.

Cates initially received a traffic citation from Sergeant Kevin Roberson for not coming to a complete stop at the intersection of Fern Street and New Broad Street, police said.  Cates admitted to doing a “rolling stop” in the 2-door Ford Mustang he was driving.

According to the arrest affidavit, Cates returned to the area driving a scooter and wearing a ski-type mask and again didn’t come to a complete stop at the intersection.  Again, he encountered Sgt. Roberson who tried to initiate a second traffic stop, but Cates took off.

Cates crashed the scooter and was approached by the police officer. The pair fought violently and that’s when Cates reached for his gun and two shots were fired.  At one point, the police officer removed his own service revolver and held it to Cates’ head while imploring Cates to drop his own gun, which he subsequently did.  A witness who observed the fight helped the officer restrain Cates until backup arrived.

Later, Cates expressed remorse saying he was wrong and he was sorry, according to the arrest report.

“[I] made bad decisions, used poor judgement and … put the officer in fear for his life,” the arrest report states.  He admitted to not having a concealed weapons permit and that he wanted to get the gun out of his waistband, to tell the officer he had it.

Sergeant Roberson sustained no injuries.  Meanwhile, Cates was taken to a local area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.   He was released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon.

Cates faces several charges including attempted homicide on a law enforcement officer, carrying a concealed firearm without a permit, discharging a firearm in public, battery on a law enforcement officer and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

A statement from OPD’s Sergeant Jim Young of media relations said:

“We are thankful and fortunate that Kevin was not killed, and the suspect should be thankful and is fortunate that he was not killed but only injured.

We are also grateful that this would-be cop killer has been arrested, and the community should understand that the men and women of the Orlando Police Department are willing to risk their lives to keep them safe.”