A Missouri police officer and mother of six was killed during a high-speed chase after she lost control of her patrol car while attempting a traffic stop.
Osage Beach Police Officer Phylicia Carson, 33, was on patrol about 1:20 a.m. Sunday when she noticed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on a rural road near the Lake of the Ozarks in Camden County, Chief Todd Davis said. said during a press conference Saturday.
Carson activated his police lights and pursued the suspect to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver sped off.
While pursuing the suspect, Carson lost control of his patrol car and slid off the road and struck a tree. Davis said his police car burst into flames upon impact.
The department received a report of a vehicle on fire on the highway, and Carson was pursuing the suspect. They tried to make contact with him, but were unsuccessful.
“Officer Carson was killed in the accident,” a choked-up Davis said, wiping away tears.
According to police, the suspect, Christopher Aaron Bishop Wehmeyer, 23, of Carson, crashed minutes after the accident while fleeing the scene and was later arrested.
Carson will join the department in June 2023. She is survived by her husband, Grant Carson, and six children.
“Please keep the Carson family, our department and our community in your thoughts and prayers as we deal with this tragic incident,” Davis said.
The investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol remains ongoing.
The Post has contacted the Osage Beach Police Department for comment.
Wehmeyer was charged with fleeing after a motor vehicle was stopped or detained, resulting in death. Online Records,
He is being held without bail at the Camden County Jail.
The allegations come just days after the state passed a new Valentine’s Law.
According to Valentine’s law, “fleeing after the stop or detention of a motor vehicle is considered a felony offense if the person knows that a law enforcement officer is attempting to take the vehicle into custody and the person flees at a high rate of speed, creating a risk of serious bodily injury or death or actually causing bodily injury or death to another person.” Missouri State,
“The suspect who is charged becomes the defendant, and it can amount to a felony offense that carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years in prison, or even life,” Camden County Prosecuting Attorney Richelle Grosvenor explained. KY3,
Carson's death was the police department's first line-of-duty loss in 30 years.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson expressed his condolences over the officer's death, saying he and his wife, Teresa, were praying for the Osage Beach community.
“Officer Carson will not be forgotten,” Show-Me State governor wrote on the x,
Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe also said he and his wife, Claudia, “offer our heartfelt condolences to Officer Carson's husband, his six children and fellow officers.”
“We must remember those in law enforcement who courageously serve their communities despite the dangers they face,” he said. wrote. “Officer Carson will never be forgotten.”
Family friend Ciara Clement Monnig wrote “Phylicia Carson has always been one of those women who inspires you just by being the person she has been… God-loving, motherly, funny, outspoken, full of joy,” she wrote on Facebook.
“My heart is broken for her, Grant Carson and their children, who she lived so fully for. Please hold this family and pray for God to give them peace.”
