Oklahoma Highway Trooper Honored For Foiling Out-Of-State Bank Robber

Oklahoma highway troopers suit up each day, never knowing if they’ll face a routine day on the job or one they’ll never forget. 

Trooper Derek Fry was honored by the Oklahoma Department of Safety for stopping a bank robber from out of state.

"It was a broadcast from Kansas requesting help. A man robbed a bank with firearms, stated he had a bomb, and was fleeing in pursuit coming to Oklahoma,” said Trooper Derek Fry, “And I was probably 60 miles away at the time.” 

60 miles away, Fry had been preparing for a lecture at a high school. But as it happened he was in just the right place to head off the suspect and catch them before they entered Perry. “So very, very high stakes for us,” said Fry. 

Fry ended up in what he calls a lethal roadblock situation to stop the chase. "Speeds were incredibly high and once the suspect crashed out, there was another pursuit, another exchange of gunfire there. And ultimately we were able to stop the suspect," Fry said.

He says if it wasn't for his higher-ups making sure he was prepared for just about anything, things may have ended differently. "I was very fortunate. I had a lot of years of training behind me,” said Fry.

As for his calm demeanor through it all, Fry credited a higher power. "I would just give all the glory to God on that. I felt the Lord‘s hand involved in the whole thing,” said Fry.