Mother of 6 Killed Throughout Excessive-Pace Pursuit Whereas on Police Responsibility

A mom of six has died in Missouri after being concerned in a automotive crash whereas on responsibility as a police officer.

On Saturday, Aug. 31, at round 1:18 a.m. native time, Osage Seashore police officer Phylicia Carson, 33, witnessed a car touring at excessive pace on U.S. 54 close to Passover Highway in Camden County, police Chief Todd Davis stated in a press convention that morning.

“The officer activated its emergency tools and initiated a site visitors cease on the car,” Davis stated, including that the car “did not cease and accelerated,” so the officer pursued the automotive.

The pursuit continued earlier than Carson’s car struck a tree after skidding off the roadway at roughly 1:34 a.m., a Missouri State Freeway Patrol report acknowledged. Her automotive caught hearth, and he or she was pronounced lifeless on the scene, the report added.

“Officer Carson perished within the crash,” an emotional Davis stated throughout Saturday’s press convention, confirming she’d been with the division since June 2023.

The late officer is survived by her husband and her six kids, Davis stated. “Please maintain the Carson household, our Division, and our neighborhood in your ideas and prayers as we work via this tragic occasion,” he continued.

The car that was being pursued crashed at round 1:42 a.m., Davis stated. He additionally acknowledged that Carson’s dying was the primary line-of-duty loss he was conscious of within the 30 years he’d been with the division.

Camden County Prosecuting Lawyer Richelle Grosvenor referred to as the incident “an unspeakable tragedy” throughout the press convention.

Christopher Aaron Bishop Wehmeyer, 23, is being held in jail with out bond, per Camden County Sheriff’s Workplace on-line data. He wasn’t named within the press convention.

The Osage Seashore Police Division did not instantly reply when contacted by PEOPLE.

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The Missouri State Freeway Patrol led the tributes to Carson on X (previously often called Twitter), writing, “On behalf of Colonel Eric T. Olson and the whole Missouri State Freeway Patrol, we lengthen our deepest condolences to the household and associates of Osage Seashore Police Officer Phylicia Carson, who misplaced her life within the line of responsibility this morning.” 

“We additionally lengthen condolences to Chief Todd Davis and the women and men who she served alongside on the Osage Seashore Police Division,” the submit added.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson additionally shared on X on Saturday, “This morning, Osage Seashore Police Officer Phylicia Carson died within the line of responsibility. [My wife] Teresa and I elevate up her household and the Osage Seashore neighborhood in our prayers,” including, “Officer Carson is not going to be forgotten.

The tragedy comes days after Missouri handed the brand new Valentine’s Legislation, which “creates the offense of aggravated fleeing a cease or detention of a motorized vehicle if the particular person is aware of {that a} legislation enforcement officer is making an attempt to detain the car and the particular person flees at a excessive pace which creates a considerable danger of significant bodily damage or dying or truly causes bodily damage or dying to a different particular person,” per the state’s senate web site.