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NSBNEWS.net by Henry Frederick. NSBNEWS.net audio of 911 call by Sera Frederick.
Oak Hill police officer Brandy Sutherin, at left in the photo, fills out a report while Oak Hill Police Chief Diane Young greets his wife, Christina, Saturday night, April 24, in a gas station parking lot across from the New Smyrna Speedway, after the couple told troopers they were victims of a road-rage incident that began on I-95 and continued onto S.R. 44, resulting in the off-duty cop shooting his gun at the other motorist's vehicle. Listen to the 9-1-1 call, NSBNEWS.net was first to report the story. He has since left the police force.
OAK HILL -- The Oak Hill cop who shot at a pick-up truck during a road rage incident that started on Interstate 95 and spilled onto State Road 44 has resigned from the police force.
Sutherin resigned April 30, six days after the bizarre incident on Saturday, April 24, when he called 9-1-1, telling a dispatcher he was chasing the operator of a Ford pick-up truck at speeds of 90 to 120 mph, with his wife driving and their three children in the back seat, after he claimed the family's BMW sedan was clipped by the other vehicle. The dispatcher admonished him for taking such reckless action.
In the letter directed to Police Chief Diane Youg, Sutherin, 34, wrote: "After much consideration I have decided to accept another job offer. I feel it is time for a new challenge, and this is a good opportunity to further my career goals." Sutherin, who made no mention of the chase and was on paid aministrative leave, did not elaborate on his plans, and neither he nor the police chief could be reached for comment late Wednesday.
The 9-1-1 call has chilling conversation where Sutherin tells the dispatcher he's having trouble reading the plate because the other driver is speeding. "He is doing in excess of 120 (mph), and we are at 90," Brandy Sutherin says near the beginning of the 16-minute call.
"I know you are an officer, but you don't want to put your family in danger by flying down the highway to get a license," the dispatch operator responds.
Sutherlin later fires his personal revolver, aiming at the tires, but says be believes he missed after the driver turned around and headed straight for his car.
The chase finally ended when Sutherin's wife pulled into the Kangaroo gas station/convenience store, across from the New Smyrna Speedway and the other driver kept going. A statewide bulletin was issued for the apprehension of the other driver on aggravated battery charges.He remains at large.
New Smyrna Beach police said they weren't anticipating charges against Sutherin or his wife, but was placed on paid administrative leave by Oak Hill Police Chief Diane Young as she initiated an internal affairs investigation to see if he followed proper procedures.
This is not the first time Surtherin has resigned or been terminated from employment with a police department: In 2006, he "voluntarily resigned" from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and he was terminated from the Daytona Beach Shores police force in July 2008, after 20 months on the job, which included a year's time he was unable to work after he was involved in an on-duty motorcycle accident. He was let go after eing unable to meet the department's fitness requirements.
Sutherin, whose father, Ron Sutherin, was Daytona Beach Shores chief of police from 1966 to 1970, was hired full time with Oak Hill in March for $12 an hour. He was initially hired part-time in January and before that had served as a reserve officer.