“It just seemed like the right thing to do”

MOSES LAKE — Dave Ruffin does not teach his law enforcement students at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center to do what he did on Wednesday when he detained a male suspect believed to have a gun in the school’s parking lot.

“Absolutely not,” Ruffin said. “We don’t teach civilians to intervene in short, dangerous situations. But you know, it just seemed like the right thing to do.”

A former Moses Lake Police Chief who teaches law enforcement at CB Tech, Ruffin responded on Wednesday when two students reported they were threatened by a man with a gun who had been driving white Mercedes in the CB Tech parking lot. The school went into lockdown and Ruffin said he instructed staff to call 911 while he went out to look for the suspect, later identified as Leonel Balderas-Mondragon, 22, who had apparently come to campus to pick up relative.

“I checked the lot immediately in front of us, and there weren’t a lot of cars there. And then I walked around to the east side lot, where there typically are a lot of cars, (and) I didn't see the white Mercedes,” he said.

Ruffin said he eventually found the car and spoke with the suspect, who raised his shirt to show the former chief his waistband.

“I commented on that during the incident and said, ‘Hey, I never said anything about a weapon. Why are you raising your shirt?’,” Ruffin said. “Basically, I just told him to stay out of the car to stay where I can see, just keep your hands where I can see the police will be here in just a minute.”

At no time did he arrest Balderas-Mondragon, Ruffin said, adding that if the suspect had tried to leave, there wasn’t much he could do to stop him. Several witnesses then identified Balderas-Mondragon as the suspect who threatened them with a gun, which Ruffin said was likely in the car.

“That was my part,” Ruffin said. “The police did all the rest.”

According to CB Tech Director Christine Armstrong, the incident happened just as students were leaving class, so the lockdown kept everyone at school about 30 minutes longer than they normally would have been. She also said she feels exceptionally fortunate to have a retired police officer with over 30 years of experience teaching at CB Tech.

“We are so lucky in so many ways,” Armstrong said. “I knew whenever we had an emergency he would be my first go-to because he knows exactly what to do.”

Current MLPD Chief Kevin Fuhr, who is also president of the Moses Lake School Board, said Ruffin is a level-headed and experienced police officer who knows how to handle himself in difficult and dangerous situations.

“He did it just the right thing. He just had a conversation with the kid, didn't go hands on with him, just had a conversation to try to keep him there long enough for the officers to show up,” Fuhr said.

For Ruffin, his acts on Wednesday were more about making sure students and staff were safe.

“You know, in retrospect, in hindsight, probably not the smartest thing to do,” he said. “But honestly, I'm just concerned for my students and any of the other students out there. And so that's the bottom line.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com