The Virginia State Police is conducting an internal review following a strange series of events that ended with a trooper’s accidental gunfire coming “inches” from a Michigan truck driver’s head at a weigh station off I-81.
Police Receive Report About Kidnapped Woman In Semi
The incident began when police received a report on Monday about a missing woman who was believed to have been abducted by a truck driver. Virginia State Police tracked the truck for some time and eventually stopped it at a weigh station off of I-81 near Troutville.
Gun Goes Off Accidentally During Apprehension Of Trucker
Troopers ordered 54 year old driver John Leisenring out of his truck and onto the ground. Leisenring claims that he did so with no hesitation. According to Leisenring, as a trooper was tucking his right arm behind his back, that trooper’s weapon discharged accidentally, the bullet striking the sidewalk “inches” from the truck driver’s head.
No one was hurt.
Woman Was Actually “Free As A Barnyard Cat”
After conducting an investigation, police determined that the woman in the truck, Ramona Huffman, was there of her own free will. Huffman’s daughter had contacted police about her mother. “She just didn’t know exactly where I was and was trying to figure out where I was,” Huffman explained.
Said Leisenring, “Had they done due diligence in their job, they would have known she was as free as a barnyard cat.”
To add to the strangeness of the incident, Leisenring said that state police seized both his and Huffman’s phones, though he was unsure why: “If the investigation was completed at the weigh station, why did they take our cellphones?”
Police also reportedly showed him a photo of himself talking to Huffman at a truck stop 60 miles away in which Huffman was “looking at [Leisenring] and smiling.” Police told Leisenring that they had been monitoring him for some time.
The Virginia State Police say that they are conducting an internal administrative review into the incident.
Sources:
The Roanoke Times