Arrested Near ER, She Hopes Deputy Learns Compassion

By VALERIE KALFRIN The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2007

THONOTOSASSA - Working alongside her father in a Tampa pawnshop for decades, Melissa Langston grew to trust law enforcement officers.

"I've never had any reason to fear them or think they have no common sense," she said Friday.

A traffic stop in November while racing to her sick father changed that perception, at least toward Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Kevin Stabins, Langston said. Stabins will serve a five-day unpaid suspension this month for using excessive force against her.

In a widely seen video taken from his patrol car, the deputy stopped Langston in the University Community Hospital parking lot, pulled her from the car and forced her against the trunk.

"He looked angry, like he was going to show me who was boss," Langston recalled Friday while cradling a teacup poodle in her lap at her home. "I want him to learn from this at least and not put anyone else through it, because people don't deserve it. Be a little more compassionate."

The formal inquiry began after Langston's husband, Dennis, called the sheriff's office to complain about Stabins' behavior, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. Stabins' supervisor asked for an internal investigation.

Dennis Langston owns Langston's Used Auto Parts on U.S. 301, his wife said. The couple live on an old farm with several dogs and alpacas.

About 10:30 p.m. Nov. 1, Melissa Langston received a call from her father, Bill Johnston, 65, of Land O'Lakes, who was experiencing chest pains and driving himself to the hospital. Langston left home to meet him there.

At a red light on Fletcher Avenue, about 50 feet from the hospital entrance, a deputy pulled behind her and turned on his emergency lights, stopping her in the hospital parking lot, she said.

At the time, Langston thought he was there to help. "I just automatically thought, 'He sees this all the time, and he's going to get me where I need to go. This is a relief,'" she said.

She was stunned when he told her she had been speeding and asked for her license and registration. Langston said she tried to be patient as he left to write a citation, but "it was three minutes, and it felt like forever."

Anxious, she stuck her head out her car window and called, "Could you please hurry? I'm going right over there." Thinking she would check for her father's car, she drove off to search the parking lot, she said.

Stabins must not have heard her, she said. "He snatched the door open, and he proceeded to snatch me out of the car while the car was moving," she said.

Another deputy inquired with the hospital and learned Langston's father had been admitted. Stabins was unimpressed. "He told me he could've pulled his gun," Langston said.

Stabins charged Langston with felony fleeing an officer and booked her into Orient Road Jail. The charge later was dropped.

According to the sheriff's office, Stabins, a four-year veteran, has no previous disciplinary history. Upon hearing of Langston's incident, however, Largo lawyer John Trevena accused Stabins of shoving a Dunedin man during a Buccaneers game in November.

John K. Faulkner, 46, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and misdemeanor resisting an officer without violence after he tried to direct officers toward fighting fans, Trevena said. Stabins told Faulkner to stay out of it.

"What he ultimately did was tackle him," forcing Faulkner into an empty seat and causing abrasions to his knee and leg, Trevena said.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against Faulkner in January.

"If he wants to come in and file a complaint, we'll be glad to look into it," Carter said.

Although Stabins has not apologized to her, Langston said Sheriff David Gee did. Law enforcement friends have offered comfort also, saying, "He made a bad judgment call and just lost it," she said.

The most comforting thought is that her father recovered, she said. "I think to myself, if things had gone differently and my dad didn't make it. … By the grace of God, everything worked out OK."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.