Edmond Police Chief speaks out after officer survives ambush

An Edmond Police officer’s life-or-death struggle was caught on camera during what started as a routine traffic stop, showing the moment a suspect ambushed Officer Caleb Hodam while armed with pepper spray and a knife.

22-year-old Ocean Hudson was later arrested and now faces charges including aggravated assault on a police officer.

The incident shows how unpredictable police work can be, and News 9's Lisa Monahan sat down with Edmond Police Chief J.D. Younger to learn more about what goes into their work.

Q: What went through your mind or stood out to you when you watched the footage?

A: The first thing is that I'm so fortunate that, and we're so fortunate that Taylor was able to survive this and keep his mind about him while the attack was going on. He did an exemplary job in defending himself and taking this person into custody. 

Q: Are you guys seeing more of these types of incidents in law enforcement? 

A: I think the profession as a whole has seen an increase in attacks in general, and ambush attacks specifically, over the last four years. I think the national data reflects that. Unfortunately, in the last four years, we've seen more attacks on officers than we have in the last 20.

Q: What has changed? Why are we seeing this, in your opinion? 

A: I hate to speculate, but obviously, there's been a higher awareness of law enforcement and policing in general in the country over the last five years, and so one could assess that the critique or rhetoric around the profession is contributing to it. 

Q: Is there anything else that you think could be fueling these types of attacks? 

A: I don't know that it's specific to policing, just look at the society in general over the last four years of the rise in violence. Now, fortunately, in the last two, we've kind of seen those numbers as far as homicides and assaults nationally start to trend downward, but I think society in general is reflected in policing. 

Q: As a chief, how do you train your officers for the unexpected? 

A: First, we attract people who are committed to this profession and committed to serving. Because they are, they invest the time necessary to prepare themselves, both mentally and physically, to deal with these uncertain, tense and rapidly evolving situations. We were fortunate that Caleb is one of those who commits time to being physically ready, to being mentally ready. So as the body camera shows that he didn't skirt from the responsibility to defend himself and the community when the situation presented itself.