ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 14, 1997 TAG: 9702140034
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: MARION
SOURCE: Associated Press
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
A JURY CONVICTED a state trooper of reckless driving for a 1995 chase on I-81 that killed an Elkton minister. The jurors recommended a fine but no jail time.
A state trooper who was pursuing a speeder when he slammed into a car carrying a minister and his wife, killing the minister, was convicted of reckless driving.
The Smyth County Circuit Court jury that convicted Trooper M.D. Spangler on Wednesday recommended the maximum $2,500 fine but did not call for jail time. The misdemeanor charge carries up to 12 months in jail.
According to police reports, Spangler was trying to overtake a speeder on Interstate 81 on Sept. 10, 1995, when he lost control of his cruiser and struck a car driven by the Rev. John Paul Shenk.
Shenk, 59, pastor of the International Pentecostal Church of Christ in Elkton, was killed, and his wife, Dorothy, was injured.
Gerald Gray, the special prosecutor who handled the case against Spangler, said he hoped the verdict would send a message about such pursuits.
``What I hope is that the state police will re-evaluate their policy with regard to high-speed chases,'' Gray said. ``The evidence in this case, I think, made clear this was an unnecessary high-speed chase - and it unnecessarily resulted in Mr. Shank's death.''
Head of field operations for the state police, Col. Gerald Massengill, said Thursday the agency respects the jury's decision. But he said he hopes the public will recognize the dilemma troopers face each time they evaluate the need for high-speed pursuits.
Massengill said that in Spangler's case, the trooper was trying to overtake a car going in excess of 100 mph.
``We hope [the verdict] won't send the wrong message to troopers that would in some way cause them not to do their job,'' he said.
Massengill wouldn't comment on Spangler's employment status, but said department policy that evaluates driving accidents has been applied to the trooper.
Massengill also said the department constantly evaluates and updates its policy on high-speed pursuits and its training.
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB