A possible "suicide by cop" case was prevented this month thanks to a rookie cop whose body cam footage went viral after he refused to shoot a taunting homicide suspect.

According to CNN, the incident took place in New Richmond, Ohio last week when Michael Wilcox tempted the officer to shoot him after he allegedly murdered his girlfriend in Kentucky and later killed his friend in Ohio. Wilcox was on the run when he crossed paths with rookie police officer Jesse Kidder.

Before serving a year on the force, Kidder was a recipient of a Purple Heart and a former Marine who served two tours in Iraq. His family purchased the body cam for him after seeing police violence after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

"Law enforcement officers all across the nation deal with split-second decisions that mean life or death," Kidder said to reporters."I wanted to be absolutely sure before I used deadly force."

Kidder didn't use force on the suspect. Instead, the rookie says he noticed Wilcox wasn't holding a weapon in his pocket, so he wasn't a potential threat. The moment was still vital for Kidder since he fell to the floor as Wilcox continued to shout, "Shoot me."

"I was trying to open a dialogue with him. 'I don't want to shoot you; just get on the ground.' But he wasn't having it. He kept repeating, 'Shoot me!' At one point, he said, 'Shoot me, or I'll shoot you,'" the officer said.

Wilcox gave up moments later and was arrested and placed on a $2 million bond. There's no motive behind the killings, but Wilcox allegedly stated to officers that 'music' made him do it.

Kidder has been applauded for his quick thinking and has inspired his department to invest in body cameras for the safety of their officers.

Check out the moment here.

Source: CNN | Video Credit: JoshBo