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October 29, 2006
By Danza Johnson
Daily Journal (Tupelo, Mississippi)
The recent tragic death of University
of Mississippi Police Officer Robert Langley has reinforced what law
enforcers already knew – there is no such thing as a routine traffic
stop.
“Officer Langley’s death really hit home for our guys,” said Mississippi
State University Police Chief Georgia Lindley. “We train our guys to be
aware that anything can happen on a traffic stop, but after this tragic
event, it really hit home. We realize that the most routine stop can
turn into a life-or-death situation. We have to treat every stop with
caution.”
Langley was killed when he was dragged for nearly 200 yards during a
routine traffic stop at Ole Miss on Oct. 21. Ole Miss freshman Daniel
Cummings, 20, is being charged with capital murder in connection with
Langley’s death.
Tupelo Police Maj. Jackie Clayton is over the patrol division. Patrolmen
have been getting nightly reminders to be careful on traffic stops since
Langley’s death.
“The shift commanders have been reminding officers of the dangers of
traffic stops and just telling them to be careful,” said Clayton. “Each
stop is different and because of that, they each have to be handled with
caution. We are lucky enough in Tupelo to have enough officers where
help comes fast when a stop is made.”
Pontotoc Chief Larry Poole has been on the job since 1973. He said that
until Langley’s death, he never really thought about being injured
during a traffic stop.
“As officers we just have to react to all situations,” said Poole. “Our
guys probably didn’t think about stuff like this before it happened. It
hit so close to home that you have to look at it and realize it could
have been anyone of us. I’m sure when we go over our pursuit policy
again traffic stops will be a big part of it.”
Main problem
More than 16 percent of all officers killed from 1995 to 2004 were
killed during traffic stops, according to Thomas Aveni, a consultant and
police trainer with the Police Polices Studies Council. Aveni said these
types of deaths are becoming more common.
“This is the third most dangerous reason that police are killed in
the line of duty,” said Aveni. “We had 96 officers killed from 1995 to
2004 from traffic stops. That’s a lot. Fifty-six of those were killed
making routine traffic stops. An officer just doesn’t know what to
expect when they approach a vehicle.”
Langley update
Law enforcement officials have not released any official information on
what happened to Langley that he was caught up in the court. Cummings’
attorney Steve Farese said he believes Langley came through the window
into the suspects automobile.
Aveni said the most common deaths occur when an officer reaches
inside the vehicle.
“An officer who’s dragged often reaches inside a car to grab the keys or
shut the car off,” said Aveni. “This is not a good tactic. At that point
the officer is going for the ride. A lot of departments train officers
not to break the plane of the window. I think it should be a uniform
rule.”
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