Kentucky police probe shooting of teen driver

HEBRON, Ky. -- The Boone County Sheriff's Department continued to investigate Monday whether their deputy followed proper procedures last weekend after ending up on the hood of a moving car and fatally shooting the teenage driver.

Officers have to make split-second decisions when a suspect drives away in a car, said Ed Bridgeman, professor of criminal justice and program coordinator of criminal justice technology at University of Cincinnati Clermont College. They can pursue or write down the license plate number.

"If a car drives toward you, that is a threat of deadly force," he said. "That is the same as someone pointing a 12-gauge shotgun at you and cocking the hammer back. You got 2,000 pounds of steel coming at you."

The investigation was launched after Deputy Tyler Brockman's fatal shooting of Samantha Ramsey, 19, of Covington, Ky., shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday. She was leaving a field party along the Ohio River where two bonfires were raging.

Bridgeman, who has 28 years of law enforcement and training, said that, under the law and the procedures of every department he knows, deputies have the right to defend themselves against a vehicle speeding toward them.

He said 15 years ago, most injuries to officers were caused by guns and knives. While he didn't have current statistics, Bridgeman said he believed more officers are being struck by vehicles.

"How many of the world's scariest videos have you seen on TV of police officers standing by the side of the road when somebody whacks them, their car, the car they got stopped – and everyone goes flying in the air," Bridgeman said. "That is a very, very real concern."

Sheriff's Spokesman Tom Scheben said deputies are trained to "protect themselves first" when they are put in a situation where a driver accelerates a vehicle toward them.

Scheben said the results of the investigation will be given to Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Tally Smith, who will ultimately decide whether to present the case to a grand jury. She couldn't be reached for comment.

Scheben said the investigation will include reviewing the statements made by the three passengers in Ramsey's car and any of the 30 to 50 other partygoers who may have seen something, Brockman's statement and the evidence gathered at the scene.

"We will slow down and dot our I's and cross our T's to make sure we do this correctly," Scheben said.

He didn't know when the investigation would be completed and turned over to Smith, but he said it could take several weeks to receive the toxicology results from Ramsey and Brockman.

"In most investigations," Scheben said, "the lab is what holds us up."

A video taken from dashboard-mounted camera in Brockman's cruiser shows the deputy approaching Ramsey's slow-moving car, but it didn't capture the shooting.

What happened off camera is disputed. Scheben said Ramsey accelerated her car and struck Brockman instead of stopping as ordered, throwing him onto the windshield. Chelsey Pendleton, a passenger in the car, told the The Enquirer on Sunday that Brockman jumped on the hood of the car from beside the car.

Pendleton's mother, Donna Pendleton, said her daughter was sitting in the back seat on the driver's side.

"She heard pop, pop, and she ducked," Donna Pendleton said while describing what her daughter witnessed. "Then she heard pop, pop, and there was a bullet right where she (had been). If she had not have ducked, it would have been worse for her."

Donna Pendleton said she didn't know her 20-year-old daughter was attending a field party where underage drinking was taking place.

Scheben said the department was investigating the conflicting claims.

Bridgeman said investigators will likely look at Brockman's injuries to see if they are consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Brockman was treated for a leg injury the morning of the shooting.

"We still have a lot of information to come out on this," Bridgeman said. "From what I heard, and recognizing there is a still a lot to go, it sounds to me like a legitimate shooting."

The Ramsey family referred questions to Downtown lawyer Gary Franke, who released this statement: "Naturally, the family is still going through the grieving process. They are asking for prayers, not only for them, but for the officer involved."

Franke declined to comment on Ramsey's drunken driving conviction. Her license was suspended for 120 days in August after being convicted in Kenton County of driving drunk. Kentucky considers anyone under 21 with a blood-alcohol level of 0.02 or greater as legally drunk. Adults have an alcohol limit of 0.08.

Funeral arrangements had not been made as of Monday evening.