In a year rife with Columbus police-involved collisions, the City Council handed down its harshest sentence so far this year Tuesday.
Rebecca Lomax, just in her second year on the job, was suspended 30 workdays without pay for a May 15 collision that sent her, 76-year-old Mary Fuller and two other women — ages 79 and 84 — to the hospital with injuries.
Lomax, a Mississippi University for Women criminal justice student, will shed her uniform today and, because of her schedule, won”t be back on duty until August.
If Lomax chooses, she can still appeal the decision before the Civil Service Commission.
After the meeting Tuesday, Columbus Police Chief Joseph St. John said he hoped the suspensions would encourage officers to be more careful on the roads.
“It”s been a bad year for us,” he said. “Hopefully, that”ll get their attention.”
So far this year, at least four officers, including Lomax, have been reported suspended for on-the-job wrecks.
n Retired Lt. John Pevey and officer Richard “Rick” Higgins were suspended 20 days Feb. 22 for allegedly failing to follow procedure after Higgins wrecked a squad car on New Year”s Eve. Both officers are appealing their suspensions before the Civil Service Commission.
n Officer Heath Beard was suspended five days for allegedly wrecking a squad car and another 10 days for insubordination earlier this year. He is also appealing the City Council decision.
n Officers Ron Richardson and James Hanson are also facing disciplinary action for wrecks but haven”t appeared before the accident review board yet.
The accident review board, which includes Mayor Robert Smith and Police Chief Joseph St. John, voted Monday to suspend Lomax — a decision that was upheld by the City Council.
The punishment would have been less harsh if the board had followed departmental policies, but board members said the injuries involved warranted stronger disciplinary measures.
The May 15 wreck was Lomax”s second this year. She was chasing a southbound traffic violator on Highway 45 when she hit the right-front fender of Fuller”s car, causing severe damage to both vehicles.
Even though officers can run red lights while their emergency lights are on — which is what Lomax did — they”re supposed to make sure other cars clear the intersection before crossing.
Fuller and her two passengers, along with Lomax, were taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Although Lomax was not seriously injured, the three women have continued to seek treatment for their injuries, according to Fuller”s family.
Lomax”s first wreck this year was Feb. 3, when a mixture of sleet and hail iced over bridges, bringing Highway 82 traffic to a standstill in several locations while wrecks were cleared.
One of those locations was a bridge west of the Military Road exit, where Lomax slid into a truck, which had slid into a police car that had parked to help two other vehicles that had collided.
Lomax, who was suspended a day for that wreck, and the other officer, Robert Walker, were taken to BMH-GT for minor injuries.
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