Remembering Police Officer Sanford Stanley Jr.

 

A Routine Traffic Stop Turns Deadly

On July 19, 1976, Coshocton Police Officer Sanford Stanley Jr. pulled over Paul W. McNeely after seeing him hit a bridge abutment. Officer Stanley let McNeely go with a warning.

After being let go, McNeely went to his home and retrieved a 12-gauge shotgun, a .22 magnum revolver, and a .22-250 rifle. According to McNeely’s own testimony, each was kept in a different room in his home. He also filled a bag with ammunition for each weapon.

McNeely then drove to the Coshocton Ohio Police Department and parked in an alley across the street from the police station. McNeely walked across the street and entered the police station through the back door.
McNeely approached Officer Stanley, who was unarmed at the time, and shot him with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Officer Stanley attempted to get away from McNeely. McNeely followed Officer Stanley through the corridor to the front door. McNeely then shot Officer Stanley in the back with a .22 caliber magnum revolver.

Officer Stanley died as a result of the gun shot wounds.

Patrolman Stanley was survived by his four young daughters.

Tried and Convicted

McNeely was tried for the murder of Officer Stanley. During the trial, Connie McNeely testified that her husband (Paul) had a drinking problem, which led to their separation and her relocation to Virginia. She also stated that Paul, at times, became argumentative and violent.

At the trial, Paul McNeely testified that Officer Stanley had stopped him on Route 16 for striking a guardrail earlier. McNeely did not remember any conversation between himself and Officer Stanley, nor did he know why Officer Stanley did not cite him.

Further testimony was given that prior to the shooting, McNeely got into a scuffle with a patron at the Green Lantern Inn and stated, “Such people should be killed.” This patron may have been McNeely’s victim had Officer Stanley not stopped him.

A jury of 12 convicted Paul McNeely of the offense of aggravated murder.

From Death Row to Parole

McNeely was sentenced by a Common Pleas Court Judge to be electrocuted on November 28, 1977.

In 1978, The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, after considering the judgment of the Supreme Court of the United States in the cases of Lockett v. Ohio and Bell v. Ohio, modified that all Ohio death sentences be commuted to life imprisonment with the opportunity for parole.