Howard officer dies after being hit by car
Posted by David Keelan on Monday, June 18, 2007
This is terrible news….
Howard officer dies after being hit by car
Wheeler was standing in the road to flag down cars that other officers using radar flagged for a traffic infraction. Investigators believe the driver — a 24-year-old woman whose name was not released — did not see Wheeler before he was struck. Charges against the driver have not been filed.
I have witnessed police in many jurisdictions using this tactic and always thought it was extremely dangerous. One time I was driving during rush hour on I95 between Baltimore and Howard County when a State Police officer walked into the middle of the left lane and flagged down a car. Traffic came to a screeching halt and almost caused a serious accident. Not only does it put drivers at risk it certainly puts the officer at risk.
I certainly hope that this practice will now stop.
Howard County Maryland Blog 
Bill said
I am a former officer with HCPD, and knew Ofc Wheeler. I agree, the practice of stepping into traffic for enforcement of speed violations should stop, but it probably won’t. It is dangerous, having done it myself on many occasions. HCPD lost one of its finest when this happened, but with their reputation as a no nonsense traffic enforcing department out there, I have a feeling that this won’t stop it. And it will happen again, guaranteed.