FACE IT: Report Slides: Officer Dies in Motor Vehicle Crash at an Intersection While Responding to a Shots Fired Call – South Carolina

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Program
• Description:
  On November 7, 2015, a 37 year old municipal police officer was fatally injured when her patrol car was struck by another law enforcement vehicle on a city roadway while responding to a shots fired call. The officer was en-route to her primary patrol region after escorting a suspect to the city jail when she responded to a shots fired call from municipal dispatch. Multiple university and municipal police officers were working in the same vicinity and simultaneously responded to the shots fired call. As the municipal police officer was traveling westbound, running lights and sirens, she entered an intersection against the traffic control device. At the same time, a university police officer traveling northbound, also running lights and siren, entered the same intersection. The northbound university patrol vehicle crashed into the westbound municipal patrol car. Both officers were taken to a local medical center by ambulance. The municipal police officer died from injuries sustained in the crash. The university police officer received serious injuries. Contributing Factors: Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: 1. Two vehicles entered intersection at the same time. 2. Speed of vehicles. 3. Multiple agency and patrol car response. 4. Potential adrenaline overload. 5. Poor line of sight at the intersection. Key Recommendations: NIOSH investigators concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences: 1. State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies should consider establishing, training, and enforcing standard operating procedures (SOPs) that require drivers to come to a complete stop at red traffic lights and stop signs during responses and proceed through intersections only after ensuring it is safe to continue. 2. State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies should consider establishing, training, and enforcing SOPs that limit the speed of a patrol unit during responses. 3. State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies and training academies should consider training and emphasizing Tactical Arousal Control Techniques to enhance officer's ability to combat negative effects of 'adrenaline dump' that can occur when responding to hot calls. 4. State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies should establish and enforce a standard operating policy that requires all officers to wear a seatbelt while operating or riding in a patrol unit. 5. State, county, and municipal agencies should consider developing and implementing interagency jurisdictional policies that outline roles and responsibilities in situations or physical locations where a multiple agency response is possible. The full version of this report is available here: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/in-house/L201603.html. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Automobiles Emergency Responders Law Enforcement Mortality Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Accidents Drivers Emergency Responders Fatalities Law Enforcement Workers Motor Vehicles Police Officers Region 4 Training Traumatic Injuries

  More +
• FACE - Firefighter:
  Cause of Death: Medical ; Structure Fire: Arson
• Series:
  Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP)
• Subseries:
  Law Enforcement Officers (LEO)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHLEO201603RS
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; South Carolina ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066810
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, LEO 2016-03, 2023 Jan; :1-10
• Contact Point Address:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation, Surveillance and Field Investigations Branch, Division of Safety Research, NIOSH, 1000 Frederick Lane, M/S 1808, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505-2888
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  92 - Public Administration - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  20151107
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f4fa8ae87e570b9ccd52432b025656be98de3f5bb0a458db9ef781f9b029f0f0b01319bc193e2e86c2066a0b68e99382f4867202e95da516756ebe4bcee85766
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228550/cdc_228550_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 945.51 KB ]