The Blue Tsunami
As a law enforcement officer, you never know what’s in store for you when you put the badge on and go to work.
One minute, you might be eating a burger at the local bowling alley, and the next, you could be barreling down the highway in a Plymouth Fury in a lifeand- death fight to make things right.
And that’s just how it was for Texas Game Warden Arthur McCall around lunchtime on Friday, September 8, 1978.
Several officers, including McCall, were wrapping up lunch when Pleasanton Police Chief Bill Dean and Sergeant Lester Fuller got a call about two suspicious individuals parked in a red Plymouth Arrow with California plates near some businesses about a mile away from the bowling alley.
When Dean and Fuller found the vehicle, the license plates had been removed. A witness from a nearby business said that he saw the Pleasanton PD squad car arrive. Then, Dean and Fuller got out, and both officers approached the car on the driver’s side with Dean slightly in front.
The driver stuck his head out and pointed a gun. Dean and Fuller raised their hands and then slowly walked backwards. The driver shot, hitting Fuller in the chest. Fuller dropped to the ground and Dean dropped to one knee and returned fire, blowing out the back window.
The gunman hit the gas and sped off.
Once the radio call went out, every law enforcement officer within earshot came running, including McCall.
The suspect vehicle turned south on Highway 281 towards Three Rivers (at the time, there was no IH -37).
Atascosa County Chief Deputy Sheriff Leroy Anderson was the first unit behind the suspects as it sped south. McCall who was in a mid-70s Plymouth Fury four-door sedan game warden patrol vehicle that would fly, was second in line behind Anderson.
The passenger in the Plymouth Arrow grabbed a shotgun and began firing through the broken rear windshield, striking the front of Anderson’s patrol vehicle. Anderson slowed momentarily, making McCall’s Fury the lead vehicle. McCall rolled down his window and grabbed his AR-15 that he kept beside him in the front seat. While driving, he returned fire, striking the suspect’s vehicle at least once.
As the chase continued and the word of it spread, Live Oak County Sheriff Sam Huff and Game Warden Rick Thomas enlisted an 18-wheeler driver to park his rig across 281 about three miles north of Three Rivers.
Using cop cars to close any gaps, they had the road completely blocked.
When the two suspects saw the big rig in the road, they knew it was over. They threw both their weapons the .38 revolver that the driver had shot Sgt. Fuller with and the shotgun - out of the car. McCall ran over the shotgun with his patrol car before bumping the back end of the Arrow.
When the suspects finally stopped, McCall grabbed his rifle and ran to the driver’s side door. He broke the window of the vehicle with the rifle muzzle and ordered the men out of the car. The cavalry was right behind him as he put the driver on the ground and cuffed him. The passenger was gang-tackled to the ground and cuffed as well.
The two suspects, brothers from California, were arrested and booked into Atascosa County Jail. They were eventually convicted of Attempted Capital Murder and received long prison sentences.
Sgt. Fuller was air lifted to Wilford Hall Medical Center. He eventually made a full recovery and returned to work.
Nowadays, it’s sometimes called the “blue tsunami”, meaning that when an officer is in trouble, all officers (the blue), who are able, come crashing in to help. Indeed, that’s the way it was on Friday, September 8, 1978, and by the grace of God, it all worked out.
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