SOLON, OH – The Solon Police Department posted video on social media of a close call on the side of U.S. 422 in an effort to explain to drivers why officers often give stern orders during a traffic stop.
The video shows an officer helping the driver with his car as a pickup truck speeds up the road, loses control and spins out, narrowly missing both people and vehicles.
“A call like that just trying to help somebody out and all of a sudden there’s a car skidding toward you it’s pretty scary,” said Officer Steve Wagner with Solon Police.
Wagner says it’s situations like the one in the video that explain why officers make traffic stops and get broken down vehicles as far from the road as possible.
“I’ve almost felt their, you know, their side mirror almost hit me just on the side of the road and so it’s something we take very seriously,” Wagner said.
The side of the road is often dangerous for law enforcement. According to an annual report from the FBI, in 2016, 12 officers were hit and killed by vehicles in the U.S.
Wagner said it took becoming a police officer to really understand the danger, and the department hopes the video gives the public some insight into why police make certain decisions.
“Before I was a police officer, I never I never realized why it was so important to get over. If you see a police officer to get over as far to the left as you can,” Wagner said.