Officers Face Many Dangers on the Side of Our Roadways

In the Line of Duty

Trooper Patrick Ambroise

Just 90 minutes before ending his shift, Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Patrick Ambroise was sitting in his parked police cruiser monitoring traffic near the Okeechobee Road toll plaza on the Florida Turnpike. At about 8:30 p.m., a black Lexus veered onto the shoulder from the northbound lane and slammed into Trooper Ambroise’s vehicle. The crash and resulting fire claimed the life of the four-year law enforcement veteran, who left behind a wife and two young daughters.

The date of the tragedy: May 15, 2010 – Peace Officers Memorial Day.

In addition to the traditional remembrances and salutes to a fallen hero, law enforcement officers in south Florida came up with a novel way to honor Trooper Ambroise – and try to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future. On the Thursday after his death, 80 officers from 21 different agencies hit the streets to target motorists breaking the law. A particular focus of their joint operation was enforcement of Florida’s “Move Over” law.

Florida’s statute requires motorists to slow down and, if possible, safely move over one lane of traffic when they see a police cruiser or other emergency vehicle by the side of the roadway. The idea is to give officers an added margin of safety when they’re particularly vulnerable on the side of the road. Violators in Florida face fines of up to $120, plus points on their driver’s license.

Sergeant Jorge Delara of the Sweetwater Police Department had worked alongside Trooper Ambroise on DUI enforcement a year earlier. He helped to organize the multi-agency enforcement operation and salute to a fallen colleague, which resulted in the issuance of more than 200 citations and 750 pamphlets on the “Move Over” law.

“We work together. We help each other,” Sergeant Delara told the Miami Herald. “When something like that [Ambroise’s death] happens, it hurts all of us.”

Deputy Ryan Seguin

While Florida’s “Move Over” law was enacted in 2002, the statute gained considerable attention following the February 2006 death of another south Florida law enforcement professional: Deputy Ryan Seguin, of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Seguin and his partner had just made a traffic stop on I-595. The vehicle pulled over in a safety zone between the highway and merging traffic.

As Deputy Seguin was speaking with the motorist, another vehicle slammed into the stopped vehicle – and into Deputy Seguin. Just 23 years old, the three-year veteran died of his injuries.

Records maintained by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund show that Deputy Seguin is one of 1,229 U.S. law enforcement officers who have been struck and killed on the nation’s roadways over the years.

The first such incident occurred more than a century ago, on November 8, 1874. New York City Patrolman Thomas Evers was taking a suspect to police headquarters when the suspect struggled free and fled. Patrolman Evers flagged down a horse trolley to assist in the capture. As he attempted to step on the platform, the patrolman slipped and fell in front of the trolley, the front wheel striking his head. Patrolman Evers was pronounced dead at the scene.

The introduction and widespread use of the automobile in the 20th Century dramatically increased the risks to officers on the nation’s roadways. In 1931 alone, 25 officers were struck and killed, which equals 1985 for the second highest annual total in U.S. history. One of the officers killed that year was Deputy Thomas Moore of the Fannin County (TX) Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Sheriff Thomas Moore

On December 2, 1931, Deputy Sheriff Moore and his partner were en route to pick up a prisoner in Denison, when their patrol car had a flat tire. As Deputy Moore was changing the tire, he was struck by a passing motorist, who then stopped and transported the injured deputy to the hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries four hours later.

Only 1989 has had more struck-and-killed deaths. That year, 26 officers died as a result of these incidents, including Trooper Deborah McMenamin of the Wisconsin State Patrol. On October 26, Trooper McMenamin had just made a traffic stop near Eau Claire. After speaking with the driver, the trooper was returning to her patrol car when she was fatally struck by another motorist. She is one of 34 female officers killed in this manner and now honored on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, DC.

Since 1989, the number of officers struck and killed has fluctuated from year to year. The number of these fatalities was as low as nine in 1991 and 1996, but spiked to 24 in 2001, including Officer Scott Baird of the Gainesville (FL) Police Department. In the early morning hours of February 12, 2001, Officer Baird was on patrol when he noticed an obstruction in the roadway. He got out of his vehicle and was in the process of removing the object when he was struck and killed by another motorist. The obstruction turned out to be a batting cage from a local high school, left in the road as a prank.

Officer Scott Baird

The 23-year-old left behind a mother, Kelly Gaudet. Soon after her son’s death, Kelly decided to fulfill her own dream of being a police officer. “Two months before Scott was killed, I got to ride along with him one night, and that was a really special night,” she said. “I think it kind of brought back the dream I had of being a police officer myself.” Officer Gaudet subsequently joined the Gainesville Police Department – “Scott’s department,” as she calls it.

Tragically, some of the officers struck and killed have died accidently as a result of friendly action. Such was the case on September 11, 2005, when Arkansas State Police Trooper Mark Carthron was picking up spike sticks that had been deployed to stop a robbery suspect who was fleeing the police. Another trooper involved in the pursuit inadvertently struck Trooper Carthron. The eight-year veteran succumbed to his injuries the next morning. 

Still, the vast majority of these deaths involve drunk, distracted or inattentive drivers who aren’t paying attention to activity on the side of the road. That is why 47 of the 50 states have enacted “Move Over” laws similar to the one in Florida.

Ironically, the state with the most officers struck and killed over the years – New York, with 110 – is one of the states currently without a “Move Over” law. Hawaii and Maryland, along with the District of Columbia, are the others.