Trainer: Police taught to expect unexpected with traffic stops

There is no such thing as a routine traffic stop.

Especially in the dark of night.

When police officers pull over a car for something as simple as a traffic violation, things can go bad quickly.

"We teach the recruits to always expect the unexpected, you never know what you are walking up to,'' said John Dressback, program director of the Southeastern Public Safety Institute of St. Petersburg College. "You never know what this person has done, you have to be ready at all times.''

Tampa police officers Dave Curtis and Jeff Kocab knew that Dontae Morris was wanted on a misdemeanor worthless check charge out of Jacksonville after Curtis pulled over a 1994 red Toyota Camry early Tuesday. So they apparently went to the passenger side door, guns still in their holster, to take him into custody.

That's when, police say, Morris opened fire on the two, shooting them both in the head at close range. Both died from their injuries later Tuesday at Tampa General Hospital.

"If it's a misdemeanor warrant, you are not going to pull your gun on the individual,'' said Dressback, who was a police officer in St. Petersburg for 25 years. "If you are making a felony traffic stop, that is a totally different story. But you run into people on misdemeanor warrants on an almost daily basis.''

Police officers approaching a car are at an immediate disadvantage, the law enforcement instructor said, because they know very little about the mindset of the person inside. They don't know if he has just robbed a bank. They don't know if they have weapons in the car. They don't know if they are high on drugs.

"You're cautious,'' he said. "You don't let your guard down.''

Morris, a 24-year-old convicted felon who remains on the loose, was outside the car at the time of the shootings. Police Chief Jane Castor said this morning the officers were in process of placing him under arrest when the violence erupted. They were preparing to handcuff him when they were gunned down, she added.

"They did exactly what they were trained to do,'' Castor said of the two fallen officers. "There is nothing they could have done that would have changed the outcome of this particular incident.''

The traffic stop was conducted on the side of the road where there were street lights, the chief said.

The officers got on either side of the suspect to control him, and they had him cornered when he turned and shot them, Castor said.

"Things happen so quickly that it sounds to me like the suspect knew from the very start what his intentions were and he had a plan in mind,'' Dressback said. "When things happen so fast like that, it is a split second. He can get off a couple of shots without any problem. They are unable to take cover.

"I believe from the time he got stopped that he had a plan in mind that he wasn't going to go to jail.''

Hubert Williams, president of The Police Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based research and policy group, said that traffic stops are the No. 2 killer of police officers, behind incidents that happen during felony arrests.

"It's a very dangerous situation,'' Williams said.

Jim Previtera, the colonel of the Hillsborough County Jail who has 20 years of experience in law enforcement training, agreed.

"I think traffic stops are one of the most scary things that police officers do,'' Previtera said. "There are so many variables. You can only control so much.''

One of the biggest issues is trying to ensure that a vehicle is pulled over in a well-lit area, the Hillsborough official said. If it's extremely dark with no street light available, put as much light on the car as you can, he added. And try to relay as much information as you can back about the individuals and the vehicle.

"Training is the key,'' Previtera said. "We train cadets all the time on how best to conduct traffic stops and how to remain safe during traffic stops. You can train all you want, but there is always one variable that will pop up that you did not imagine.''