LEWISBURG, W.Va. — One of the two Lewisburg police officers shot in a traffic stop on New Year’s Day spoke about the ordeal on Monday’s edition of MetroNews Talkline.
Lt Jeromy Dove said he and Patrolman Nicholas Sams left the city streets of Lewisburg for Interstate 64 when a license plate reader alerted them of a stolen vehicle headed west and coming their way.
The SUV with stolen plates pulled over first. The pickup truck pulled over in front of the SUV and backed up on the side of the interstate. Dove ordered the driver, later identified as Eric Campbell, 21, of Alvin, Texas, to get out and walk back to their cruiser.
“I was trying to talk to the son and he was obviously nervous,” said Dove. “He didn’t really want to answer any questions. I knew right away something wasn’t quite right.”
Dove said typically the license reader detects a stolen plate that may have been reported stolen, but was recovered and nobody informed the system. He said when he asked the father who had gotten out of the pickup truck, now identified as Edward Campbell, 54, of Alvin, Texas for proof of ownership, the traffic stop took a turn for the worse.
“I saw him swing the revolver around and as I turned to get out of the way, that’s when he fired,” said Dove. “The bullet he fired actually hit the microphone of the radio that sits on my shoulder. The bullet broke apart and a fragment hit the back of my neck and hit Nicholas Sams in the forehead.”
The senior Campbell fired a second shot striking Sams in the back as he turned for cover. He was wearing a bulletproof vest which saved his life. Dove said Campbell was very close when he fired the first shot and left a powder burn on the officer’s cheek. Dove wasn’t sure how many more shots he fired. Dove returned fire, hitting the elder Campbell in the leg. The entire incident happened in the blink of an eye.
“They knew what they had done, we didn’t,” Dove added. “It doesn’t matter what we would have done differently, they were going to trying to kill us. There’s not a doubt in my mind, there was going to be a gunfight.”
State police later discovered two dead bodies in the bed of the pickup truck. The victims were identified as Jerome Faulkner, 73, and his wife Dora, 62, of Oak Hill, NC who police say were murdered earlier in the day and their home set on fire. Authorities think it was random and couldn’t find a connection between the suspects and the Faulkners.
Dove and Sams remain on leave, but are anxious to get back to work. Dove said the incident will never be far from his mind, but added it shouldn’t be and it’s a warning to other officers.
“It reinforces always wear that bulletproof vest and always attend training and treat it seriously,” he said. “We know it could have been worse, but it wasn’t and we’re blessed for that.”