A traffic stop gone bad in Hillsborough County, Florida

Last Wednesday (May 2, 2007), I was watching the Fox 35 10:00 News with my wife when I first viewed the tape of the Hillsborough County deputy sheriff stopping the female motorists on her way to see to her heart attack stricken father in the emergency room of a Tampa, Florida, hospital. We were both very distressed to see the way the traffic stop was handled.

While the woman was wrong to take off before the stop was concluded, it was clearly the deputy's fault for the situation to escalate as it did. As I discussed with a police academy class the next day, the onus is on us as the law enforcement professionals to remain calm and de-escalate the situation. I also told them that the deputy's actions in that nationally viewed dashboard video tape will make their job when they get out of the police academy that much harder. The picture of me below is in the classroom discussing this very topic.



Towards the end of the day, while enroute to the gym to workout, I received a call on my cell phone from Fox 35 10:00 News reporter Kelly Joyce. While I had not worked with Kelly before (she got my number from ten-year station veteran reporter David Martin with whom I have worked before), I was eager to meet up with her and explain my perspective on the stop as she requested.

I met with Kelly and WOFL-TV Fox 35 photographer Steve Cegielski at 6:15 (after my workout -- I couldn't miss that) by the college's police academy police cars and we talked extensively about the situation. At that time I did not know that the Hillsborough County, FL, Sheriff's Office had concluded their investigation. The AP story came out later in the evening. The result of their investigation concluded that the deputy used excessive force. The deputy got a five day suspension and all charges against the driver were arrested.

My comments to Fox 35 would have been even stronger had I known that. As it was, I made it very clear that as law enforcers, we are not allowed to have a bad day. I told Kelly that when we have a bad day, people can die. It is up to us in law enforcement to be professional and to remain calm. I have posted the video of my Fox 35 10:00 News interview below. I hope you'll agree that professional law enforcers should be held to a higher standard.