Fatal shooting by Cowley County deputy during traffic stop ruled justified

A Cowley County sheriff’s deputy was legally justified to shoot an Arkansas City man during a traffic stop last May, the Cowley County attorney ruled Friday.

Tayler Rand Rock, 22, was shot five times by the deputy as he was grappling with the officer and attempting to drive off with the deputy leaning inside his car on U.S. 166 shortly after 7 p.m. on May 31, Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith said Friday. Rock later died at a hospital.

“It is disingenuous to argue that grabbing the officer’s wrist, refusing to let go, accelerating a vehicle and dragging an officer alongside that vehicle would not place an officer at risk of serious bodily harm or death,” Smith said in his ruling.

“The deputy clearly stated that he had no doubt in his mind that Tayler Rock was going to kill him. Since Tayler Rock was not stopping, was not listening, was not obeying lawful commands, and had been resistive from the start, the deputy knew he had to fire his service weapon in order to save his life.”

The Rock family, according to the Arkansas City Traveler, called the findings expected but ridiculous and said they will seek an independent investigation.

According to Smith’s ruling:

The deputy had pulled Rock over because emergency dispatchers had been informed by Rock’s ex-girlfriend – the mother of the 9-month-old child he had in the back seat of the car – that Rock was driving despite having a suspended license, and she was concerned about the baby’s welfare because of how the child was being fed and clothed, according to Smith’s ruling.

A short time later, the deputy spotted a green Ford Taurus traveling west matching the vehicle Rock was reportedly driving. He was also told Rock had been cited for driving with a suspended license twice before. Department policy calls for motorists driving with a suspended license to be arrested.

Rock began yelling and swearing at the deputy when he was stopped, insisting the law enforcement officer had no grounds to pull him over. The deputy told Rock he was driving with a suspended license and was under arrest and told Rock to get out of the car.

Rock refused to obey the deputy’s order to get out and rolled up his window. He rolled it down a few inches when the deputy warned that he would use his baton to break the window. The deputy then reached inside the window, unlocked the door and opened it.

Rock began to hit and kick the deputy from inside the car, prompting the officer to try to gain compliance by using a wrist lock on him. Rock lurched the car forward, prompting the deputy to tell him, “Tayler, don’t do this, you are going to get hurt.”

The deputy leaned into the car and attempted to get a “force lock” on Rock’s arm, hoping to use “pain compliance” to get Rock out of the vehicle.

While the deputy was inside the vehicle, Rock grabbed the officer’s left wrist and accelerated his car.

“The deputy began to fall backwards but was unable to get free from Tayler Rock’s grip,” Smith’s report stated. “The deputy was face-to-face with Tayler Rock. He dropped his baton and grabbed his handgun. He warned Tayler Rock, ‘Tayler, don’t make me shoot you.’”

Rock responded by rapidly accelerating his car. The deputy fired his .40-caliber Glock and kept firing until Rock let go of him. The vehicle dragged him through the ditch and ran over his left leg.

The car went through a fence and into a field before coming to a stop. Seeing smoke coming from beneath the hood and fearing the car would catch fire, the deputy limped to the vehicle and pulled the infant out of the back seat. He carried the child to bystanders, who had stopped to help.

He then pulled Rock out of the car and began administering CPR. Rock was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The deputy suffered injuries to his left ankle, left knee, left foot, left shoulder and left hand. He continues to receive medical treatment and surgery is scheduled for the near future, according to Smith’s ruling.

An in-car camera in the deputy’s patrol car was not functioning properly at the time of the incident, Smith’s report noted. Two witnesses told investigators that they saw the deputy leaning into Rock’s car and that the vehicle then accelerated with the deputy still leaning in.

An autopsy indicated Rock’s wounds were consistent with the account given by the deputy.

This story was originally published September 19, 2014 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Fatal shooting by Cowley County deputy during traffic stop ruled justified."