Published: June 29, 2008 10:37 pm         

KPD officer remembers ‘angel’

Story is included in book by Las Vegas officer

Lt. Don Whitehead has seen his share of murders, fatal crashes and other serious crimes during his 22-year career with the Kokomo Police Department.

But what he experienced in February of 1999 was like no other.

Whitehead was called to the scene of a 5-year-old girl killed in a bus accident on the same day as a police-action shooting.

“I’ve investigated countless deaths,” Whitehead said. “But nothing like that.”

A husband and father of three, Whitehead described in detail how the fatal affected his life in a chapter of a book entitled “True Blue To Protect and Serve,” by Lt. Randy Sutton of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Whitehead met Sutton last year in Fishers at a Police Executive Leadership Academy, where Sutton was lecturing other officers on policing with honors.

“We hit it off and talked about the book,” Sutton said of Whitehead.

On an invitation from Whitehead, Sutton arrived in Kokomo Sunday. He will be appearing on several Indianapolis TV stations and on WWKI’s Male Call discussing his experiences and his new book.

A 32-year police veteran, Sutton works as a patrol lieutenant in Las Vegas, where he holds the distinction of being the most highly decorated police officer in the department’s history.

With an extensive background in patrol, investigations, narcotics and community policing, he ran the advanced training section. He is the author of two books, “True Blue Police Stories By Those Who Have Lived Them” and “A Cop’s Life” as well as many professional articles.

He has been a law enforcement commentator for FOX News and “The Maury Povitch Show” and been featured in such television shows as “COPS,” “Americas Most Wanted,” “Las Vegas” and several feature films, including “Casino” and “Miss Congeniality II.”

When Whitehead heard about Sutton and his books, he was intrigued.

“He told us about the book and invited us to submit a story,” Whitehead said of the seminar.

Whitehead submitted a chapter about the fatal bus accident in what he calls “Angel on the Table.”

In the book, Whitehead talked about the case.

It was a hectic day. As other investigators converged on the scene of the police-action shooting, Whitehead was called to investigate the death of Carlena Spencer, a 5-year-old girl who had been run over by a school bus.

The young girl was preparing to board a Kokomo-Center bus at Elizabeth and Superior streets, when she crossed in front of the bus from the left to the right near the bumper. The bus took off and struck and killed the young girl. The roads in the area were blocked off because of the shooting, causing school buses to be rerouted, which is why the girl got hit, the family says.

In the book, Whitehead explained how he went to the hospital to speak with the parents and had them identify the girl.

“Just before I left the room to talk to the parents and bring them in to see their child, I turned and really saw the beautiful little girl lying on the table. She looked like an angel, as if she was asleep. I paused for what seemed like an eternity. How can this be? What kind of world is this?, I thought. My mind and heart and spirit reeled from the shock.”

After meeting with the parents, Whitehead experienced something he will never forget.

“For some reason, I wasn’t prepared for this one,” Whitehead wrote. “This man with tears running down his face, simply leaned over his daughter, put his arms around her and asked her to wake up. He held her in his arms and kept repeating over and over, “Wake up Angel, wake up. Everything will be OK. Just wake up please.

“I know that denial is part of the process, but it just caught me by surprise. I had just realized that the life of a beautiful child had been snatched from her parents for no apparent reason, and I couldn’t maintain my composure any longer. Tears flowed down my face as if it were my child lying on that table.”

Though, no one was ever charged in the fatal crash, Whitehead drew some insight from that experience.

“I will continue to deal with death as part my job for as long as I choose to be police officer, and I will be professional, proper and competent. But, I will never forget that little angel.”

     

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