Police Officer Dominic J. Winum

Officer: Stanley Police Department, Police Officer Dominic J. Winum

Date: 2/26/2021                      Location: Stanley, VA           FACTORS (1,7,8,13,15)

Perpetrator(s) Involved: Dakota G. Richards

Criminal Activity History/Involved: Unknown./None stated.

Mental Illness: Unknown

Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./None stated.

Race/Sex/Age: Unknown/Male/29

What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 3:15 p.m. on February 26, 2021, Officer Winum stopped a vehicle operated by Dakota Richards that fit the description of a vehicle that police were told to “Be on the Lookout” (BOLO) for.

Actions taken by subject toward police: Dakota Richards exited his vehicle and shot Officer Winum multiple times, killing him, before he was able to exit his patrol car. Richards then ran off on foot into a nearby wooded area.

Reactions by the police: Page County Sheriff’s deputies tracked Richards down to a barn in the area. Richards was in possession of a Smith and Wesson AR-15 rifle and when he made a threatening movement, the deputies justifiably shot him dead.

How murdered? Officer Winum was ambushed and murdered with a gun during a vehicle and traffic stop.

What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? Since the BOLO advised the suspicious person in the vehicle was armed with a gun, it would have been reasonable for the officer to unholster his weapon upon initiating the car stop. It also would have been reasonable for the officer to use his weapon as soon as he saw the driver exit the vehicle and turn towards him in a threatening manner.  A gun in the car would have made it a high risk traffic stop so the officer could have stopped further back from the vehicle to give a bigger buffer.

Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Yes, had the officer anticipated what to do if the driver exited his vehicle with the gun that was believed to be inside, he would have been justified to shoot at the subject.

Outcome for the cop-killer: An armed Richards was justifiably shot and killed by responding deputies when he made a furtive movement, threatening those deputies.

Miscellaneous: There is remarkably little reporting about Richards.