July Enforcement Staff Member of the Month
- By Alicia W. Coleman
- Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2025
During a pursuit of a vehicle that ran from Deputy Roman’s traffic stop on 7/13/2025, Sgt. Southard, who is trained in the use of the PIT maneuver, attempted to utilize this technique to end the pursuit. However, the suspect was able to recover from the PIT and continued fleeing from deputies. Immediately after the PIT, the suspect vehicle did come to a stop briefly, at which time Deputy Roman exited his vehicle and advanced on the suspect vehicle on foot. While he was doing this, the suspect started to drive forward toward him. Sgt. Southard observed this action and took it as a direct threat to Deputy Roman’s immediate safety and struck the rear bumper of the suspect vehicle with the front of his patrol car to push it away from where Deputy Roman was standing. This was brief and minimal contact and succeeded in changing the trajectory of the suspect vehicle away from Deputy Roman. I am convinced that Sgt. Southard’s quick thinking and actions prevented Deputy Roman from potentially being struck and injured by the suspect vehicle during this incident.
