Officer Down: Texas Deputy Fatally Run over during a traffic stop

Story by click2houston.com

HOUSTON   --

A Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constable died after he was run over during a traffic stop, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Investigators said Deputy Constable Jason Norling, 38,  (photo) a motorcycle deputy, stopped a driver on suspicion of a traffic violation in the eastbound lanes of the Westpark Tollway near Gessner Road at about 10:20 a.m. Monday.

Norling's motorcycle was parked directly behind the vehicle that was pulled over.

"He was standing up next to the window of the violator he had stopped when he was hit by another vehicle," said Capt. Terry Thurman with Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office.

A driver in a sport utility vehicle hit Norling's motorcycle and then the deputy as he passed by, officials said. The driver stopped at the scene.

Norling was giving the first driver his license back when the accident occurred.

Norling was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m.

He had been with Precinct 5 for eight years, officials said, and a motorcycle officer for five. Norling's brother also works for Precinct 5 in the Warrants Division.  

Investigators said the driver faces charges of failure to move over to a lane for a police officer, which could be upgraded to negligent homicide with a motor vehicle. Investigators with the District Attorney's Office said the driver was distracted by his cellular phone and was swatting at a mosquito before he hit the deputy.

Norling leaves behind a wife and a brotherhood of fellow officers.

"Most police departments are a brotherhood -- close knit. And when something like this happens, we get a little closer," said Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Phil Camus. "There's a period you get kind of numb and it doesn't sink in. That numbness will go away, but the sadness will be with us for a long time."

A new state law requires motorists to switch lanes when they see an emergency vehicle along the side of the road. If they cannot switch lanes, they should slow down 20 miles below the speed limit. But that apparently did not happen this time, according to authorities.