Photo for Headline Surfer / Orange County Sheriff's Deputy John Joseph Creegan, 38, was killed in the line of duty on May 29, 1996.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- "Never Forget!" That's the motto of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, in remembering how one of its own was killed in the line of duty 29 years ago today.
On May 29, 1996, Deputy John Creegan was on patrol when he heard about a stolen vehicle heading into his area. After positioning himself and his vehicle to help, Deputy Creegan suffered deadly injuries when the driver of the stolen pick-up truck intentionally crossed several lanes of traffic and struck him while he was deploying stop sticks.
"We will always remember Deputy Creegan and his dedication to serving Orange County," the Sheriff's Office said in a social media post commemorating the 29th anniversary of his horrific death.
Deputy John Creegan was struck and killed by a vehicle being pursued by other officers. Deputy Creegan had just deployed stop sticks in order to stop a stolen truck, driven by an 18-year-old. The pick-up truck driver went off the road, veered around two patrol cars, and then intentionally struck Deputy Creegan, according to deputies on the scene.
Creegan, 37, was standing by his patrol car near Lee Road at 12:45 a.m. on that fateful day when he was hit as the driver of the truck tried to skirt the roadblock.
The driver sped away from the roadblock at 90 mph with deputies in pursuit.
“He was giving them the finger, shooting the bird at the deputies,” Sheriff’s Cmdr. Steve Jones said.
Permission was given to use deadly force, and Deputy Scott Wetherhold pulled close to the pickup and fired a dozen shots from his 9 mm handgun. The fleeing motorist was hit in the left arm and right shoulder. One bullet struck his spinal cord. He lost control of the truck and overturned near Lake Mary Boulevard.
The suspect, identified as Jason A. Tucker, 18, of Norfolk, Va., was in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center and paralyzed below the neck.
Beary told the Orlando Sentinel that the deputies did what they were supposed to. “This guy had plenty of chances to give up and chose not to do so."
Jones said deputies first tried to stop the truck for traffic violations on South Orange Blossom Trail near Kaley Street.
The truck did not stop, and deputies stopped their pursuit because Sheriff’s Office policy doesn’t allow chases over minor traffic offenses. However, a computer check revealed Tucker’s father had reported the truck stolen in Norfolk.
When the truck reappeared on Orange Blossom Trail at Holden Avenue, deputies gave chase. Deputies can pursue felony suspects when traffic conditions permit, Undersheriff Rick Staly said.
The truck traveled north on Orange Blossom Trail and turned onto I-4. Near the Lee Road interchange, deputies blocked most of I-4 but left a gap and scattered “stop sticks” on the pavement.
Stop sticks are designed to send hollow spikes into the tires of a vehicle that drives over them, causing a blowout and forcing a fleeing driver to stop.
When the suspect's vehicle approached, Creegan was rearranging the stop sticks on the road. The deputy retreated to his car, parked next to the open lane. His blue emergency lights were on.
Some witnesses said it appeared the suspect meant to hit Creegan, Jones told the Sentinel.
The aftermath
“I’d just like to say I’m sorry for everything that has happened and the pain I’ve caused everybody,” Tucker said two years later in court before an Orlando judge sentenced him to 30 years of probation. “There’s nothing I can do to change things or bring Officer [John] Creegan back. But I’d just like to say I’m sorry once again.”
Tucker’s guilty plea to second-degree murder allowed him to return to Idaho, where he had been receiving 24-hour care at a private home near his mother. Tucker died several years later.
Deputy John Creegan was a U.S. Navy veteran. He had served with the Orange County Sheriff's for a year and had previously served with the Casselberry Police Department for one year. His wife and three children survived him.
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