Stop Stick® 2022 Video of the Year – Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Weston, West Virginia

Stop Stick Video of the Year award is awarded to agencies who submit footage of their deployments along with their Deployment Report. If you would like to be considered for Video of the Year please click the links to fill out a Deployment Report. If you have already Filled out a Deployment Report and have footage of your Deployment please submit your Video Here

A video from Lewis County Sheriff’s Office – Weston, WV, shows Deputy Dakota Shipman performing a textbook deployment of the Stop Stick® device while assisting a neighboring county, and state police involved in a lengthy high-speed pursuit.

The video was selected for the top honor because of the officer’s safe and effective use of Stop Stick – which lead to the direct termination and capture of the fleeing suspect.

Neighboring law enforcement attempted to pull the suspect over.

The pursuit began in a northern neighboring county. The suspect had just fled from law enforcement after officers positively identified the suspect’s car as being stolen. Officers attempted to perform a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle, to no avail. The suspect ignored the officers flashing lights and decided to flee at an alarming speed in an attempt to elude capture.

Pursuit speeds over 100 MPH.

The suspect determined to elude officers and attempted to fleed on the interstate reaching speeds well over 100 miles putting unknowing drivers and pursuing officers in danger just to evade capture.

Deputy Shipman explained that while the suspect attempted to get away the route they took put the stolen vehicle on the highway heading south.

Police Dispatch notified the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and surrounding agencies that the suspect was continuing to elude pursuing officer and that assistance was needed.

Deputy Shipman and several other law enfocement agencies attempted to position themselves out in front of the pursuit to deploy Stop Sticks, but due to the vehicle’s high speeds, none of the responding deputies were able to get into position in time.

Planning, Deputy Shipman located a suitable location 6 miles past the county line that provided sufficient cover and was far enough ahead of the pursuit that he could deploy Stop Sticks safely with time to spare.

Time, Cover, Distance, & Communication

Deputy Shipman arrived at his deployment location with plenty of time to spare, taking full advantage of his position Deputy Shipman deployed his Stop Sticks across the Highway and then retreated to cover while providing plenty of distance from the roadway. As the pursuit neared his location traffic began to pick up, keeping his cord reel low to the ground he was able to continue to stay in position while allowing the passing traffic and tractor-trailers to safely pass over his cord reel line.

The pursuit began to close in on Deputy Shipman’s position, while listening and communicating with the pursuing units to back off, he pulled his sleeved Stop Sticks into the road in front of the fleeing suspect flattening both front and back driver-side tires.

Approximately 1 mile after the suspect hit Deputy Shipman’s Stop Sticks, the vehicle became disabled, allowing the pursuing officers time to catch up and apprehend the suspect without any further incident.

First Stop Stick® Deployment

This deployment was Deputy Shipman’s first Stop Stick deployment, and he credits their department’s annual training with his success. “We use a local airport and practices chase scenarios with 2 vehicles. We try to hit the first vehicle and get the practice sticks out of the way of the second car” he went on to say that while the Lewis County Sheriff’s office doesn’t deploy Stop Sticks as regularly as some agencies, they still ensure that every deputy is certified, trained and equipped with them for situations just like this one.

“Stop Stick is the best option compared to other devices out there. I think that this is a perfect tool, it’s simple to use, effective, and quick to deploy as long as you have it stored properly.”

With over 400,000 vehicles equipped across the U.S. and around the world and over 40,000 documented pursuits ended safely, Stop Stick® is law enforcement’s most trusted brand today. We are committed to serving those who serve us by providing training and proven safe, simple-to-use, and effective tools.

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