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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 24, 1998 - 5 Police union chief wants penalty for fleeing cops By Rik Davie Special to the Star The president of the Durham Regional Police Association is calling for tougher penalties to deal with drivers who fail to stop for police. Terry Ryan was commenting on the Nov. 15 death of 47-year-old John Michael Gibbons of Oshawa, whose car was broadsided by a pick-up at the intersection of Hwy. 7A and 12 in Manchester. The vehicle was being fol- lowed by two marked Durham Regional cruisers responding to an earlier domes- tic incident. Mr. Ryan is confident that Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigators will find that the three 26 Division officers -- P.C. Ron Lee, his partner P.C. Dave Elliott and patrol Sgt. Terry Richardson -- were following police guidelines in attempting to locate and question David Franklin Doerfler, 35 of Claremont, the man operating the vehicle that struck Mr. Gibbons' car, killing him and injuring his 35-year- old wife Lorna. "I am not in possession of all the facts relating to the events that led up to the accident," Mr Ryan said. "The SIU does not share that with the asso- ciation, and they are under no obliga- tion to do so. "However I do know this: police offi- cers do not instigate situations where there is a danger for the public." Mr. Ryan said that in situations where there is domestic violence involved officers are obligated to locate anyone seen as a possible threat. "This is not the fault of any police officer," said Mr. Ryan. "It is the fault of a justice system that has not placed stiff enough penalties for this type of action, or even enforced to the full extent possible the penalties in place now." Mr. Ryan said no officer wants to be involved in high speed or pursuit situ- ations: "Although there is no evidence that I'm aware of to support that this matter involved high speeds, it is important for the public to remember that police are very aware that there are innocent people on the roads and their safety, as well as the safety of the officer, is foremost in our minds when- ever we are trying to stop a vehicle for any reason... These are good officers -- one's wife is about to have a baby -- they would have done nothing to put themselves or others in harm." Mr. Ryan, who traveled to the scene of the early-morning accident to speak with and offer support to the three offi- cers, said that the association makes help available to police involved in high stress situations as soon as possi- ble. "We have a stress management team in place and legal council is available to officers if they feel more comfortable having it," he said. While officers are not required to stop working during an SIU investiga- tion of this type, the three 26 Division men involved in the incident are taking some holiday time until the preliminary SIU investigation is concluded. Mr. Ryan said that he hopes provin- cial lawmakers will beef up penalties for those who fail to stop for police. "We must make the penalties so severe that it is in the person's best interest to stop and talk to police, no matter how serious the trouble may be." One association member, when told of an SIU press release scolding the media for what it called speculation about the accident, said, "No way. Keep writing about it. 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