Darrell Lunsford

Darrell Edward Lunsford Sr. (October 20, 1943 - January 23, 1991)^[1] was a constable with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office in Texas.^[2] On January 23, 1991, Lunsford pulled over a vehicle with three men inside. The three men were illegally transporting the drug marijuana. Lunsford grew suspicious of the suspects and requested to see what was inside the trunk of the vehicle. When Lunsford saw the marijuana, the suspects attacked Lunsford and shot and killed him with his own service weapon. They then drove off leaving Lunsford and his patrol car. The entire incident was videotaped on a dashboard camera in Constable Lunford's cruiser. The three suspects were found at a later date and were then arrested. It was because of the video camera in the cruiser that the police were able to arrest the three killers, who were later imprisoned.^[3]

Murder

On Wednesday, January 23rd 1991 at approximately 01:20 a.m., Lunsford pulled over a suspicious vehicle, a white 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Maine license plates.^[4] He pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and questioned the driver. He asked the driver whether he had any ID on him, to which the driver replied no. The driver claimed that he had a driving license but did not have it on him. He also said that he was helping his brother drive the car (one of two passenger's in the vehicle). At 01:27 a.m., Lunsford asked to look in the trunk of the vehicle and the three suspects reluctantly agreed. When they opened the trunk, Lunsford could smell the marijuana. At 01:28 a.m., two of the three suspects were out of the vehicle speaking with Lunsford. Suddenly, one suspect grabbed Lunsford by his legs while the other grabbed him from behind. They forced him down onto the ground by the side of the car and the third suspect got out to assist his two partners in crime. They then carried out a 'prison takedown' on Lunsford and cotinued to beat and attack him with their bare hands and feet while Lunsford was pinned down on the ground. They rolled him over onto his stomach, kicked him in the hip three times and then fired a single shot into his stomach killing him. The gun the suspects used to kill him was Lunsford's own service weapon. The three suspects then made a quick getaway in their vehicle, leaving behind the dead body of Lunsford and his police cruiser.^[5]

Aftermath

The three suspects abandoned their vehicle less than a mile from the town of Garrison. Their vehicle was found later in the day. Lunsford was found by his colleague, Chief Deputy Stanaland, at around 02:00 a.m.. The Chief immediately rewound the video in Lunsford's cruiser and made a copy of it.^[6] Throughout the morning, the police analysed this videotape and were able to identify the three killers. One of the three suspects was found later in the day when a highway patrolman spotted him walking near the edge of a wooded area. He was arrested and charged with murder. His older brother was captured and arrested two days later, the third suspect was captured the day after. All three suspects were then tried and convicted with Constable Lunsford's murder.

Dashboard Camera

The entire incident was captured by the dashboard camera in Lunsford's cruiser. This videotape enabled the police to arrest the three killers. The video is now used for the training of new officers, to avoid making the same mistake Lunsford did, by not calling for backup. The videotape teaches them what to do if they ever get into a situation like this.^[7]

See also

• Kyle Dinkheller

References

1. ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=lunsford&GSfn=darrell&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=66051533&df=all&
2. ^ http://www.odmp.org/officer/166-constable-darrell-edward-lunsford-sr
3. ^ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d33_1310516959
4. ^ New York Times 25 January 1991
5. ^ http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/videotaped-murder-leads-to-convictions-in-texas
6. ^ http://www.romingerlegal.com/fifthcircuit/opinions/91-4607.0.wpd.html
7. ^ Google Books Technology and Law Enforcement

Persondata
Name	Lunsford, Darrell
Alternative names	Constable Lunsford
Short description
Date of birth	October 20, 1943
Place of birth
Date of death	January 23, 1991
Place of death	Nacogdoches County, Texas