When LMPD Detective Deidre Mengedoht was struck and killed by an MSD semi-truck on Christmas Eve, she was said to have been conducting a routine traffic stop. Though the word "routine" is used to describe typical cases of assisting stopped cars or pulling cars over, the reality is there is nothing routine about a police traffic stop.
That’s according to St. Matthew Police Chief Barry Wilkerson.
"There's really nothing routine about a routine traffic stop," Wilkerson said. "At some points, there's the fear of the unknown for the officer, not knowing what they're dealing with or even sometimes the motorists not knowing how to handle a traffic stop."
Once an officer turns on their flashing lights, the rest of the traffic stop is unknown. Wilkerson said officers aren’t sure about the person or people in the vehicle, saying, “it could be a grandmother, could be a violent offender, you really don't know."
Wilkerson said traffic stops can be very dangerous for officers, due to all the factors playing a role.
"You have to take precautions when you approach a vehicle and then in that approach you have to worry about where the vehicle is stopped, how much traffic is there, is it an interstate, is it an isolated area where your backup's not close,” Wilkerson said.
Interstates like the location where Mengedoht was can be even more dangerous to conduct traffic stops, Wilkerson said. He attributes it to the higher speed of vehicles, along with the fact there isn’t much room on the sides of the road.
"Sometimes the officer will even camp their cars out a little so that if another car does hit, it'll deflect the car away from the officer. There have been several videos we've seen officers get struck by vehicles that are coming down the roadway while they're at the traffic stop itself,” Wilkerson said. "You should always pull over to the right side of the road if possible. That makes it a lot more safer for everybody. Pull over as far as you can. That way it gives the officer more room to get out of his vehicle to approach.
That’s just one of the recommendations Wilkerson has for drivers. He said there’s a couple of things drivers can keep in the back of their mind for how to handle traffic stops.
"There's certain things that you can do like they could hold their hand out the window like they see them and let them know they're pulling down a ramp just to give the officer an indication they're not trying to flee or elude the traffic stop,” Wilkerson said. "If it's very dark and you don't feel comfortable, it wouldn't hurt if you want to pull to a more well-lit area. If you're on the interstate even, pull off the ramp and get to an area that may be well lit like a gas station or restaurant."
Many officers perform traffic stops every day on the job, but even with the hope nothing bad will come of it, Wilkerson said officers will always have that fear in the back of their minds.
"It really doesn't matter how much experience you have. There's still those times when you pull a vehicle over and whatever it is, that sixth sense kicks in to where you know something's not right,” Wilkerson said. “Obviously your heart rate increases, but you rely on your training and your experience in those situations.”
