Physician Acquitted in Traffic Death of Motorcycle Officer

A jury on Friday acquitted Diamond Bar physician Steven Earl Davis of vehicular manslaughter in last year’s traffic death of an Anaheim motorcycle officer near Anaheim Stadium.

Municipal Court jurors in Fullerton, who spent 2 weeks listening to what one attorney described as “very emotional testimony,” took only 7 hours before finding Davis not guilty of causing the Oct. 16, 1988, collision that killed Officer Robert T. Roulston, 38.

Roulston had been traveling east on his motorcycle on Katella Avenue when Davis’ car made a left turn in front of him into a parking lot at Anaheim Stadium.

Davis, 29, who works part time as a staff physician at the stadium, began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation “almost immediately” after the collision, said his attorney, Paul Meyer.

Davis was turning into the lot at the time fans were arriving for a Los Angeles Rams football game.

“For 30 minutes Dr. Davis tried to save his life, which made this a very emotional trial because the doctor was not only involved in the collision but also tried to save the officer’s life,” Meyer said.

Meyer said the case focused on whether Davis improperly turned in front of the officer’s motorcycle or whether the officer failed to yield to Davis’ car.

Also, part of the evidence showed that Roulston was traveling 50 m.p.h., in excess of a safe speed on Katella, Meyer said.

“One witness described the officer as ‘accelerating,’ ” Meyer said, “just before the collision.”

Davis, reached at his office, declined to comment on the jury’s decision.

The California Highway Patrol investigated the accident and referred its report to the Orange County district attorney’s office, which decided to file a charge against Davis.

Anaheim police officials declined to comment on the acquittal until the trial is reviewed with the prosecutor.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robin Park could not be reached for comment.

Roulston’s widow, Deborah, an Anaheim police dispatcher, was on duty the day her husband died and did not know that her husband was involved when she sent paramedics and an ambulance to the scene of the accident.

This week, she attended a ceremony honoring her husband, one of three police officers killed in the line of duty last year in Orange County.