Officer Down: Deputy Constable Jason Norling
By Mike Glenn, Dale Lezon, and Kevin Moran
The Houston Chronicle
HOUSTON, Tex. — A deputy constable who recently received a commendation for his work in traffic enforcement was struck and killed Monday by a driver who authorities say may have been distracted by a cell phone call.
Precinct 5 Deputy Constable Jason Norling, 38, was hit about 10:30 a.m. on the Westpark Tollway near Gessner during a traffic stop. He died shortly after 1 p.m. at Memorial Hermann Hospital, said Harris County Precinct 5 Chief Deputy Leroy Michna.
A veteran motorcycle officer, Norling was aware of the risks and dangers of pulling over drivers on Westpark.
On Monday, authorities said it appeared he’d taken every precaution when he stopped a driver along the outside shoulder of the eastbound lanes for an apparent traffic violation. He parked his motorcycle behind the car.
Moments later, a sport utility vehicle apparently swerved from the traffic lane onto the shoulder, hit the motorcycle, clipped the left rear of the stopped car and then hit Norling, who was standing at the driver-side window, officials said. The impact flung him in to the air and possibly as far as 90 feet, officials said.
“You can only get over so far (on the shoulder),” said Precinct 5 Constable Phil Camus. “He was over as far as he could get.”
Investigators will check the SUV driver’s phone records to see if he was on the phone, said A.N. Taylor, a Houston police accident investigator.
The driver, who police say wasn’t speeding, remained at the scene. Officers took him to Ben Taub General Hospital for a mandatory blood test. His name was withheld Monday.
Deputies from the Precinct 5 Constable’s Office, who patrol that segment of the tollway under contract to the Harris County Toll Road Authority, routinely issue tickets from the outside shoulder, said Calvin Harvey, the authority’s assistant administrator for incident management.
The shoulder is 10 feet wide, which engineers say is acceptable, Harvey said, and the deputy was standing “well past the fog line” — the white line that makes the emergency shoulder zone visible in fog.
“At the time of this incident, traffic was normal, and, in fact, was kind of light for the Westpark,” Harvey said.
State law often ignored
Norling was an eight-year Precinct 5 veteran and spent the last five years on the department’s motorcycle unit. His traffic enforcement efforts earned him a commendation, said Precinct 5 Assistant Chief Deputy Constable Randy Johnson. “He loved doing traffic work,” Johnson said.
Johnson said stopping drivers along any roadway is particularly dangerous. Often, he said, cars pass so close to officers that their clothes are ruffled by the wind or they are nicked by side mirrors. Johnson said having motorists pull over in areas farther from passing traffic is often impractical.
A state law that took effect in 2003 requires drivers nearing stopped emergency vehicles whose emergency lights are activated to either slow down or change lanes.
Drivers must either vacate the lane closest to the stopped emergency vehicle, if the road has multiple lanes traveling in the same direction, or slow down 20 mph below the speed limit, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Sgt. David Thomas, a 15-year HPD veteran who supervises the department’s radar task force, said many drivers are aware of the law but are least likely to comply with it at morning and evening rush hours.
“We can’t enforce common sense, but the reality is that moving over and slowing down is common sense when approaching an emergency vehicle,” Thomas said. “If anything positive can come out of this tragedy today, more people in the Houston area will become extremely aware of this law.”
The law is designed to protect stopped motorists as well as police, Thomas said.
“It is very difficult to enforce,” said state Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, who sponsored the legislation in the House. “You need two police officers to enforce it, and I don’t think our law enforcement agencies have that much manpower.”
Camus said the entire department was in shock from the time Norling was reported injured. He was popular, and his brother, Ty Norling, is a 15-year veteran at the department.
“We’re all real numb right now,” Camus said. “The numbness is going to wear off and then the sadness will continue for a long time.”
Admired by neighbors
Some of his neighbors said he was as passionate about motorcycles and motorcycle safety.
Norling always encouraged riders to wear helmets and to stick to the rules of the road, said neighbor James Neeb.
He rarely spoke about the dangers of his job, they said. He left early each workday morning, usually returned around 2 p.m. and later in the afternoon was often spotted reading the newspaper on his porch.
Although he kept to himself, Norling had a friendly competition with neighbors to keep his lawn trimmed and gave the best Halloween treats each year, said Teresa Hinson, who lives two doors down.
“He was a nice guy, a country boy,” said Bud Davis, “and he loved his motorcycle.”
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle