Patrolman Mark Layne Dabling, 30, was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Colorado Springs on December 6, 1982. Dabling had served with the department for five and a half years. He pulled a vehicle over in the 300 block of West Fillmore; the driver was later identified as Vernon Templeman, a prison escapee from Florida.

As Dabling walked back to his patrol car, Templeman exited the stopped vehicle from the passenger side armed with a sawed-off .44 magnum rifle and fired a shot into Dabling’s back. The wound proved fatal and Dabling died during surgery at a local hospital. An out-of-state police officer who witnessed the shooting used Dabling’s radio to call for help. Templeman fled, abandoned his car, stole another vehicle, and was captured a short time later on Interstate 25 just south of the city.

Templeman, described as a career criminal, was convicted for Dabling’s murder and given a life sentence in the Colorado State Penitentiary; he was also facing murder and first-degree robbery charges in Kentucky. Does anyone have memories of Patrolman Dabling or information about the stop that could add to the record?