<p>It&#8217;s not often that a suspect&#8217;s attorney calls the police officer who arrested him a &#8220;true hero;&#8221; but in John Picerno&#8217;s eyes, that exactly what Overland Park Police Sergeant Scott Ferguson is.</p> 
<p>Back in April, Ferguson was on night patrol when he spotted a vehicle driving along the wrong side of road with no headlights on.</p> 
<p>He pulled the car over, but the driver quickly took off again&#8230;only to crash into a fire hydrant.</p> 
<p>Dash cam footage from Ferguson&#8217;s patrol car then shows the drunk driver exiting his vehicle. He stood there hunched over with his hands behind his back, until Ferguson began approaching. That&#8217;s when the driver pulled out a pistol.</p> 
<p>Rather than brandishing his own weapon, Ferguson wrestled the gun out of the driver&#8217;s hands &#8211; and the driver to the ground where he was finally handcuffed.</p> 
<p>At his hearing in August, the suspect pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, as well as driving under the influence. After serving 170 days of his sentence, he was placed on probation.</p> 
<p>But according to Picerno, his lawyer, he should just be thankful he&#8217;s alive.</p> 
<p>&#8220;He is very lucky and both he and his family are very grateful for the officer, Sgt. Scott Ferguson, who exercised extreme discretion during the incident,&#8221; Picerno said according to the <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article178277166.html" type="external">Kansas City Star</a>.</p> 
<p>He added that Ferguson likely would&#8217;ve been justified in firing his weapon in that situation.</p> 
<p>&#8220;No one is tougher on law enforcement than me,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I have to say Sgt. Ferguson is a true hero in my book. He is an example of what good policing looks like.&#8221;</p> 
<p>We couldn&#8217;t agree more. You can watch the dash cam video <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article178277166.html" type="external">here</a>.</p>
Here’s What Happened When a Drunk Driver Pulled a Gun on a Police Officer