A Missouri police officer and mother of six was killed during a high-speed pursuit after losing control of her patrol car during a traffic stop.
Osage Beach Police Officer Phylicia Carson, 33, was on patrol around 1:20 a.m. Sunday when she spotted a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed on a rural road in Camden County near Lake of the Ozarks, said Chief Todd Davis. He said at a press conference Saturday.
Carson turned on his patrol car lights and pursued the suspect, conducting a traffic stop, but the driver sped off.
While pursuing the suspect, Carson lost control of his patrol vehicle, skidded off the road and struck a tree, Davis said. The vehicle burst into flames upon impact.
Police received a report of a vehicle on fire on the highway where Carson was pursuing a suspect. Police attempted to contact Carson but were unsuccessful.
“Officer Carson was killed in an accident,” Davis said, her voice breaking as she wiped away tears.
Police said the suspect, Christopher Aaron Bishop Waymire, 23, was later arrested after the crash minutes after Carson fled the scene.
Carson joined the department in June 2023. She is survived by her husband, Grant Carson, and six children.
“Please keep the Carson family, our ministry and our community in your thoughts and prayers as we work through this tragic incident,” Davis said.
An investigation by the Missouri State Highway Patrol is ongoing.
The Post has reached out to the Osage Beach Police Department for comment.
Wehmeyer was charged with fleeing a motor vehicle stop or arrest resulting in death. Online Records.
He is being held in the Camden County Jail without bail.
The charges come just days after the state passed a new Valentine's law.
Valentine's Law provides for the aggravated offense of fleeing a motor vehicle stop or detention if a person “knowingly flees a police officer who is attempting to detain the vehicle at a high rate of speed, creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death or actually causing bodily injury or death to another person.” Missouri.
“The suspects charged with this crime are defendants and face felony charges that could carry a sentence of 10 to 30 years or even life in prison,” Camden County Prosecutor Richelle Grosvenor said. KY3.
Carson's death marks the police department's first death in the line of duty in 30 years.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson offered his condolences following the officer's death, saying he and his wife, Theresa, were “praying for the Osage Beach community.”
'Officer Carson will never be forgotten,' says Show-Me State governor Written About X.
Missouri Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe also said he and his wife, Claudia, “extend our deepest condolences to Officer Carson's husband, six children and his fellow officers.”
“We must not forget our law enforcement officers who bravely serve their communities despite the threats they face,” he said. Written“May Officer Carson never be forgotten.”
family friend, Shira Clement Monig; Written “Phylicia Carson was a God-loving mama bear woman, funny, outspoken, a bundle of joy and one of those women who always inspires me,” she wrote on Facebook.
“My heart breaks for her and Grant Carson and the children she has in her life. Please pray for this family and ask God to surround them with peace.”
