NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia -- The police officer killed during a traffic stop in Newport News on Thursday night was a well-liked new officer who just graduated from the police academy in June, Police Chief Steve Drew said at a somber news conference Friday.
Katherine M. “Katie” Thyne, 24, a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, is a former Navy sailor who began with the department as a recruit in November 2018 and was recently assigned to the South Precinct as a patrol officer.
Thyne’s death during a traffic stop on 16th Street on Thursday evening — during which she was dragged about a block and pinned between the fleeing car and a tree — is the Newport News Police Department’s first line-of-duty death in more than 25 years.
The man who fled the traffic stop, identified as Vernon E. Green, 38, is charged with felony homicide, a form of second-degree murder for accidental killings that occur during other felonies. He was also charged with drug possession and felony eluding.
But Drew said more charges are likely, with Commonwealth’s Attorney Howard Gwynn to be involved in those decisions.
Thyne, a New Hampshire native, made Newport News her home after the Navy and was still in the Navy Reserves, Drew said. She was a coach of a girls three-on-three basketball team for the department’s “Chief’s Challenge” league and volunteered in other ways.
“This is what she wanted to do,” said Drew, who fought back tears several times during the news conference. “She wanted to be in law enforcement, and wanted to be in this community. ... She was active in this community, and you ever saw her, she would always be smiling."
Thyne’s toddler daughter, who Drew said “looks just like" her mother, recently celebrated her second birthday. Thyne also leaves behind a mother, step-father and brother.
Drew said the incident Thursday evening began when two patrol officers responded to a complaint from a resident about a drug transaction in the area at about 6:45 p.m., and pulled Green’s car over.
A female passenger was removed from the car. Two officers — Thyne and a male officer with a couple of years on the force — were standing at the driver’s side, with the car door open, trying to get Green to step out of the car as well.
That’s when Green suddenly hit the accelerator and took off, Drew said,
Thyne, standing between the open door and the rest of the car, got caught up in the fleeing vehicle and was dragged about a block before the car crashed into a tree at 16th Street and Walnut Avenue, near Monitor-Merrimac Overlook Park.
Green was arrested by other officers during a short foot pursuit.
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This is a developing story. Check dailypress.com throughout the day for updates.
Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, [email protected]
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