BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Fellow officers of Cpl. Scott Wheeler expressed disappointment in a grand jury’s decision not to issue a manslaughter indictment against the speeding driver who struck and killed the officer on Route 32 last June.

“We had an officer out there doing what we ask them to do every day,” said Howard Police Chief William McMahon, who hosted a somber meeting Thursday at police headquarters to discuss the case.

“To lose somebody liked that — doing what they’re supposed to be doing — it’s very difficult,” McMahon said.

McMahon said police had to prove that Stephanie Grissom, 25, of High Tor Hill in Columbia, acted with gross negligence when she struck Wheeler, 31, while he flagged her over for speeding in June 2007 on Route 32 near Route 1 in Howard County.

“We felt that we had met that burden of proof and established a case of gross negligence, but the grand jury disagreed,” he said.

The grand jury’s decision prompted police to issue Grissom traffic citations for negligent driving and speeding, totaling about $400 in fines. If Grissom pays the fines, “it will be the end of the case for her,” McMahon said.

“There’s nothing we can do about it except be disappointed and continue to move on and honor Scott the best we can from this point on,” said Daniel Besseck, who is president of the Howard County Police Officers’ Association.

Grissom was driving about 16 mph over the speed limit when she struck Wheeler. Other drivers, including those behind Grissom, saw the officers and were able to avoid them, McMahon said.

Wheeler’s family did not attend the meeting and released a statement asking “for privacy during this difficult time.”

“We are disappointed that the grand jury chose not to indict the driver who struck Scott on manslaughter charges,” said Wheeler’s wife, Tracy Wheeler, in a statement.

“While we knew this was possible, it is difficult to accept.”

Following Wheeler’s death, a committee of officers amended the policy for the “step-out” technique. The technique, which involves a team of officers who step into the roadway to flag down speeding drivers, is now prohibited on roadways with a speed limit greater than 35 mph, said Sherry Llewellyn, police spokeswoman.

Grissom could not be reached for comment.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com

Comments from Examiner Readers

5:58 PM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Talk to anybody in the Special Forces of our Military and they will tell how stupid the police are; they're just not trained properly. It's sad, but this cop was being an idiot. Why would the officer think it was a good idea to jump out into the middle of the road? Why do they put lights on police cars? Why didn't he get in his car and pull her over? Did the cop have her on his radar? How did he know she was speeding? Are cops allowed to pull people over because it 'looks like' they're speeding? The cop made a stupid decision, like a lot of cops do. There was a cop in Oklahoma, or somewhere around there, and he was playing with a loaded gun in his house and ended up shooting and killing his wife. I guess he thought he was Wyatt Earp. That cop was in his early twenties and just graduated from the police academy. I think the police need to raise their qualifications and actually train these people. It's amazing to me we give these UNQUALIFIED people so much power in our society.

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12:00 PM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
The bottom line the way I see it,Is that anyone that is not a total idiot,can see that the only one at fault here is the aformentioned officer ,who intentionally stepped out into on coming traffic.But of course as we all know the police are never wrong.

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9:42 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Columbia woman pays $410 in fines related to officer�s death on roadway"

Examiner Reader said:
The entire thing was a tragedy for the officer, the driver and both families. Some of the comments below are really disheartening. The practice of stepping out into the line of traffic to stop motorists was asinine to begin with.

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7:56 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Wow, I guess I just don't know all the details. I hope his family gets a great civil lawyer and takes that woman to court.

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5:42 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Condolences to the family of the murdered police Officer, just doing his job, when run down by a Speeder.. She killed a man; for which she essentially received a "speeding ticket".. Perhaps she is one of Baltamo's protected "Minorities"? Unfortunately, I know that dark Crap-Hole, well.. also, the No 2 "murder capitol" of the US, after Detroit..

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4:55 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I was fined $2500.00 for drinking and driving. My blood alcohol level was only 0.125. I ran over a black lab and got an additional fine of $150.00. Now that is completely ridiculous! If it was a human, then ok, but a dog... come on! Cops in Utah are so politically correct it is out of control. If the dog was a golden retriever the fine would have been $75.00. What a complete joke.

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4:29 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
That's only fair that she is fined $400. I don't understand why the police should be disappointed with the ruling, most motorist who hit and kill motorcyclists end up paying around $40 in fines. I was hit and serious damage done to the bike and I was hurt. The drivers wasn't even given a ticket even though she said she didn't see me or the cars that were stopped in front of me for she was talking on her cell phone. Dafydd Jones

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3:55 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

scot said:
I was fined $550.00 for leaving my dog in my locked car on a warm day for 5 minutes while I ran into a convenience store.

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3:47 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I bet she was a Grand Theft Auto IV fan! My favorite thing to do when playing GTA is to run over cops. It's definitely the best feature of the game!

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3:07 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Columbia woman pays $410 in fines related to officer�s death on roadway"

ChillinInCali said:
WOW! I'm amazed that a Police Officer's policy is to step in front of speeding cars. 30 years ago in California, our Highway Patrol was taught to exit the highway/freeway, when pulling a car over in order to avoid being hit by high speed cars, and or, if you absolutely have to pull them over, then talk to them from the passenger side of their car. Having read all of the below comments, it appears that the "natural reaction to swerve" didn't happen by this speeding driver. So I have to ask is she Black? Was the Grand Jury Black? And was this "verdict of not-guilty", payback for the Mr Bell-50 shots fired murder by the Police in New York? If it is....shame on the Grand Jury? This police officer had nothing to do with what happened in New York. If this is not the case (which I find hard to beleive), then they (The Grand Jury Members) must be crackheads.

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3:00 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Murray, Utah 2005-2007, not 100-percent sure. A guy notices a car parked in front of his house. Who is in the car? An undercover cop the officer is staking out another house down the street. The homeowner doesn't realize it's is a cop. He approaches the car to see why the vehicle is parked in front of his house. Long story short� an INNOCENT man is shot and killed. The officer said the INNOCENT man went to pull something from behind his back. Turns out the man had NOTHING in is hands or in his pockets, he had NOTHING on him. The majority of cops are good, but there is a significant percentage of negligent police; just like the cop in the article. Cops have too much power and a lot of people get their lives ruined by cops like this officer. The majority of officers are not qualified to have as much power as they do, and something NEEDS to change.

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1:22 PM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I have witnessed these police officers in MD do this on many occasions. They jump out and wave you over.. its very dangerous on their part, as they do this on I95... imagine if it had been a semi truck... i don't think they would be able to stop with out a serious crash. It's sad someone died, but justice was served by not ruining this young womans life.

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11:56 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I think the difference between her striking a citizen vs a police officer is that had it been a citizen its likely that citizen wasn't stepping out in front of the car on purpose unlike the police officer. I think the policy is negligent. Had she swerved to miss him and had a fatal crash, who be negligent then?

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11:49 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Police work of all types are inherently dangerous. To say this woman was neglient because she ran into a police officer who stepped into the road is ridiculous. I think it says a lot that they changed the police policy after the accident. The officer took a risk by stepping into the path of a car. Bad choice on his part.

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11:03 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
how many times do cops shoot unarmed people and get off. there was a case in utah when a taylorsville cop killed somebody in a traffic accident, and nothing happend to him.

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7:14 AM MST on Thu., May. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
You have these people that do not appreciate what all of our Law Enforcement officers do for us. They should spend one day doing the job and their opinions may change. This deadbead woman should be under the jail. You cop haters are all idiots. It is sad but true when you need one they will be there for you.

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8:13 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Dave M. Yeah my name wheres yours? Hmmm said:
Cop killer gets off...whats next? I was reading some of the writings of idiots like the "go after crack houses" comments...funny, obviously either a convicted felon or a closet criminal who does wrong while no one is looking..let me clear the air here...there are street patrols, detectives, and traffic cops....if you knew anything about the police (you don't however) you would know that the good corporal was a TRAFFIC COP!! Therefore he was doing his job!

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6:30 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Columbia woman pays $410 in fines related to officer�s death on roadway"

Examiner Reader said:
Stephanie's middle name is Latoya. It seems the jury was either stacked against the cop, or no one wanted the good reverends Sharpton or Jackson showing up in their neighborhoods. It's just another white cop dead, hardly worth the print. It's funny, usually the suspect and victim's faces are shown. Why the media blackout?

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6:24 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Columbia woman pays $410 in fines related to officer�s death on roadway"

Examiner Reader said:
This is ridiculous

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6:09 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
You people have got to be kidding me! A police officer is killed and you're complaing about speed traps. Sure the method was obviously full of some problems, but show some respect. And while you're complaining about cops not doing their jobs, try to think about the last time you did anything to improve or protect your community.

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3:38 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Good. The police shouldn't be hiding in the bushes or jumping out into the street "to keep us safe." Staying in the squad car with the light on will cause us to slow down, too...so why not do that? The police should be protecting citizens, not using commuters as a revenue generating mechanism. Notice how the officer was doing what 'he was supposed to be doing' (as ordered by his superiors). You never see citizen polling asking for more speed traps, only violent crime prevention. Get the speed traps off the road and go after the crack houses. Leave the taxpayers and commuters alone and go after the murderers and crack dealers.

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1:55 PM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader2 said:
This is manslaughter pure and simple and the family should pursue all legal options if any exist; if you are going twenty miles over the speed limit, you are legally guilty of "reckless driving." Apparently the jury focused on the fact that the officer stepped out into the road; what if a child had done so? She would have been convicted of manslaughter, no question. Is there racism involved here? The police officer was white; what about the driver and the jury?

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11:21 AM MST on Wed., May. 7, 2008 re: "Howard officer dies after being hit by car"

Examiner Reader said:
delusional pretty boy in uniform is no longer a danger to society. irresponsible behavior is a symptom of liberal law enforcement lunacy. vive le survival of the fittest.

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7:36 PM MST on Mon., Mar. 10, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I'm disappointed that Wheeler didn't win last year's Darwin Award.

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8:46 AM MST on Sun., Mar. 9, 2008 re: "Jury doesn�t indict driver who struck, killed cop"

The Undertaker said:
Speed alone is not enough to convict in a manslaughter case. The person posting below me is an idiot.

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11:10 PM MST on Sat., Mar. 8, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I think the women should be sitting in jail for along time. If she was not speeding she would not have hit the officer because it would have given her time to slow down and stop. Everyone else he pulled over didnt hit him, shes just an idiot. Goed to show wemon should not drive.

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5:53 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

The Undertaker said:
How about this - charge his supervisor with manslaughter! This young man is dead and this woman will never be the same. Shame on the police leadership.

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2:10 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said: said:
If anyone else had stepped out on the road the police would have them evaluated by a shrink and committed. It is hard to believe that this practice continues. Someone said that it has stopped now, but I have seen them doing the same thing since then on other roads so it has not stopped and our police officers deserve better than to be thrown out into the high speed lane of traffic to stop a car. This practice must be stopped to preserve the lives of our police officers.

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12:22 PM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner reader said:
Must have had a good attorney and she will pay the price anyway if she has a conscience. Its not about blame its about responsibility. Something that seems to escape a lot of people.

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11:20 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
I'm sorry for the pain the family feels in this death. For some reason people need to place blame. Place it on the fool that told the officer to step in front of a SPEEDING car. If anyone else does that it's considered "suicide". The MOST negligent person is the supervisor for carlessly sending his officer into harms way. I am shocked that it has taken this long for someone to die. I do notice, no one seems to say much about why the officer did not move out of the way. If she could have stopped, he could have moved. Family needs to direct the anger where it can do some good. The officer gave his life and saved the life of other officers.

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11:03 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

African American Woman said:
My initial thought was that the Grand Jury was crazy, but after giving it some thought the procedure of stepping out in traffic is what got him killed.

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10:36 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Howard officer dies after being hit by car"

An Ex Police Officer said:
The act of stepping out in the traffic lane to wave someone over is beyond my belief and who ever decided that this is the proper way to flag a car down is the one that should be charged with this officers death . What is a surprised driver supposed to do? First they have to get over the shock of seeing someone standing in the road ahead of them then they have to decide what to do. Some people have quicker reactions and are able to react fast enough to stop. I have seen officers have to jump to miss a car that cannot stop and does that deter them from continuing the. I have experssed my disgust at this procedure that puts our officers at risk to every agency that would listen and they all just waved it off as a necessary risk or a procedure that is not authorized yet is allowed to continue occuring. Why isn't the press looking at the supervisor and the agency that allows this procedure to continue endangering our police officers unnecessarily. I refused to do it.

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10:32 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
While it is traggic that this happened, you won't find me jumping out in front of a speeding car. If I did, how could the driver be negligent?

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9:12 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Cops should be taught basic physics in basic training. Things like stopping distance for a car weighing 3000 lbs at 50+ miles an hour, what happens to an object when 3000+lbs hits it (especially if the object is human) should be required study. Who's idea was to instigate a policy of entering the flow of traffic anyways?

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8:58 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
Though sad, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. I can't speak for everyone else, but I was always taught that if you step in front of a car, you ran the risk of being killed. It's the practice - now abandoned surprise, spurprise - that's was neglegent, not the driver. If she has any conscience whatsoever, she will carry that moment with her every day of her life, and that should be punishment enough.

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8:06 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
So now its the cops vs the citizens? She was speeding, I do it every day and so do the majority of people. She got unlucky because he put himself into a dangerous situation. Both at fault. Case closed

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7:08 AM MST on Fri., Mar. 7, 2008 re: "Police disappointed in decision not to indict driver over death"

Examiner Reader said:
The Howard County Police Officers are not the only ones angered by the Grand Jury's decision. We who knew Scott Wheeler are VERY angry that Latoya Grissom has gotten away with reckless endangerment and manslaughter in the killing of Scott, and are curious as to why it took so long for her identification to be made public and for it to be brought before the Grand Jury. There are a lot of questions in this horrific killing of a very fine human being and police officer, but apparently for some devious reason the Howard County State's Attorney's Office is kowtowing to some higher authority. But this information also will eventually be made known. Nothing stays secret forever.

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4:53 PM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "Jury doesn�t indict driver who struck, killed cop"

The Undertaker said:
The grand jury most likely acted with the blessing of the Howard County SAO. This way they can say to the cops 'sorry we tried, but the grand jury wouldn't indict.' But everyone knows that you can get a grand jury to indict the proverbial ham sandwich.

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11:55 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "Jury doesn�t indict driver who struck, killed cop"

Examiner Reader said:
So the Howard County Police will throw her name out there despite the fact that the grand jury refused to indict her. Yet the State Police still withhold the name of the cop who killed the guy on 95. Dane Hall?

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9:02 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "Jury doesn�t indict driver who struck, killed cop"

Examiner Reader said:
I actually do not know all the facts.Did the woman hit and then run?Was she drinking?Did she use proper caution in a situation where there were blinking patrol lights.Were markers in place ?Was the officer hit in the lane she was driving or did she hit him while he was in the emegency lane.Could there have been a reason he was not seen. Did she use proper care if there were emergency lights. Did she speed through an emergency situation. Was the grand jury compiled of liberals such as most of the state. Was the prosecution over zealous and asked for homicide or was the grand jury deciding on reckless homicide. Why has her name been witheld . Why was she not also charged with reckless endangerment with carries a higher fine and term then reckless driving and speeding.

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8:40 AM MST on Thu., Mar. 6, 2008 re: "Jury doesn�t indict driver who struck, killed cop"

Examiner Reader said:
It makes me sick that the liberaln a@@ hat let that scum bag go without punisment. That just sends the wrong message that it's ok to run over police officers and nothing is going to happen to you.

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12:13 AM MST on Mon., Aug. 13, 2007 re: "Howard officer dies after being hit by car"

Outraged Examiner Reader said:
Local yokels? LOL, Is he serious? Well, I guess Mr. Cooke believes speeding and running people over is quite sophisticated. The only person putting people at risk is the suspiciously unidentified driver who apparently was exceeding the posted speed limit to such an extent that she killed someone in plain view. My prayers go out to the family of Officer Wheeler and all those who lost their lives serving and protecting the citizens of Maryland.

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5:26 AM MST on Wed., Jul. 25, 2007 re: "Howard officer dies after being hit by car"

An Examiner Reader said:
The female driver who hit the officer is apparently a member of a prominent political family. If this were not so, I can assure you that we would have learned her identity shortly after the accident.

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4:37 AM MST on Wed., Jul. 25, 2007 re: "Howard officer dies after being hit by car"

William Cooke said:
This officer lost sadly lost his life because he was engaging in a reckless practice that put him and others at risk. It wasn't murder. It wasn't even manslaughter. Her name should be kept private so local yokels like you can't harass her.

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8:47 PM MST on Tue., Jul. 24, 2007 re: "Howard officer dies after being hit by car"

Outraged Examiner Reader said:
This officer lost his life because of some reckless woman breaking the law. Why has her name not been released? How fast was she going? It is disgusting that she got away with murder.

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