LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- A routine traffic stop was anything but routine for two police officers who saved a man who was locked in the trunk of a car, bound and gagged.
"Even after 20 years of law enforcement, my heart was beating extremely fast. I never witnessed or had been in that situation," says Officer Frederick Wilson.
Wilson pulled over the car driving on Taylorsville Road for an expired license plate, and discovered the passengers were not wearing seatbelts.
As he pulled the car over, Officer Daniel Goldberg, who was off-duty, approached to help.
But they noticed something wasn't right.
"As I was running the plate, looking down, I kind of looked up. And I could see the trunk move a little bit, but the people inside the vehicle weren't moving, so I was thinking something isn't quite right, but still had no clue about what was ready to happen," says Wilson.
"I was just relieved. I knew that it was probably going to be the only opportunity I had once the car was actually pulled over to try and get some help. So I'm just glad they were there when they were," says Shawn Bloemer, the victim.
Police say Bloemer, a gas station employee, was overpowered by three men who tried to abduct him in his own car on August 3rd.
Bloemer was in the trunk for more than four hours.
"He was trying to fight and live, but I think he thought he was going to die. And he had about given up when the police officers found him," says the victim's mother.
Trent Byle and Joseph Davis, both 27, and 28-year-old Brittany Elder, were arrested.
They are charged with kidnapping, wanton endangerment, and theft by unlawful taking.
Officers Frederick Wilson and Daniel Goldberg were honored before Thursday's Metro Council meeting.
Councilman David James offered proclamations for the officers' courage and service.
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