On the evening of Oct. 17, 2008, Dallas police officer Michael Vaughn ran over and killed a 10-year old boy riding his bicycle. Vaughn, responding to a non-life-threatening call, was speeding 30mph over the posted speed limit without his emergency lights or sirens.
The accident occurred around a short bend on a dimly lit stretch of Belt Line Rd. Cole had disobeyed his parents and tried biking to a nearby store where a friend worked. He was struck from behind while making a left-hand turn.
In a disciplinary hearing last Thursday, Vahgn was given a one-day suspension, with pay, for violating emergency vehicle operations policy. However, he may be penalized an additional 10 days for having accumulated too many points on his driving license after getting into a separate accident last year.
The Dallas News reports:
The family “has been disappointed from the beginning about the reaction of the Dallas Police Department to Cole’s death,” the family said in a prepared statement issued by Jones after the one-day suspension was handed down. “A short suspension seems grossly disproportionate to the loss of Cole’s life.”
[Assistant chief of the patrol bureau Floyd] Simpson said he understands the family’s reaction to the discipline, “but I dealt with the situation from the standpoint of the misconduct and the violation of our driving policy.”