Detective Deidre Mengedoht, left, and the man who killed her, Roger Burdette. (Photo of Mengedoht from Kentucky state and Burdette is a screenshot from ABC Louisville, Kentucky affiliate WHAS11)
A murder conviction and sentence were upheld for a former county sewer district truck driver in Kentucky who was streaming pornography on his phone and driving while under the influence of prescription medication when he crashed and killed a police detective on Christmas Eve 2018.
The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously upheld the conviction and 27-year prison sentence of Roger Burdette in the murder of Louisville Metro Police Detective Deidre Mengedoht, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a news release Tuesday.
Burdette argued that the trial court made numerous erroneous rulings, leading to an unfair trial. The court disagreed.
“The Commonwealth argued to the jury that Burdette acted wantonly with extreme indifference to the value of human life because he was impaired and watching a pornographic video when he collided with Det. Mengedoht’s vehicle,” the court said in its opinion on Thursday. “During closing argument, defense counsel argued that the Commonwealth failed to meet its burden of proving wantonness, and, if anything, Burdette acted recklessly.”
In a statement, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron applauded the ruling.
“Our hearts go out to Detective Mengedoht’s colleagues, family, and friends,” he said. “While we know the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling does not diminish the pain of this loss, we hope the victim’s family is comforted by the court’s decision to uphold Burdette’s conviction.
“Ensuring justice is served by defending convictions and sentences is an important part of our work to support crime victims and their families.”
Mengedoht was killed when her patrol car was struck while she was conducting a traffic stop in downtown Louisville. Her vehicle was stopped in the right lane with its emergency lights activated when it was struck from behind by a Metropolitan Sewer District tractor-trailer. The crash sent her into the pickup truck she had pulled over. Her cruiser burst into flames, and she was killed.
Burdette was fired from his job with the Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) and was indicted for murder and other crimes in 2019. He admitted to consuming the opioid hydrocodone the day of the crash. A forensic examination of Burdette’s cellphone revealed that at the time of the crash — 2:15 p.m. — he was streaming a pornographic video, the state supreme court noted.
The detective’s family received a nearly $14 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Reacting to the settlement, Mengedoht’s mother, Brenda Young, said the settlement would not ease or bring closure to her pain.
“It is said that time heals all wounds, but a pain like this doesn’t heal, I’m having to learn to live differently and through it one day at a time,” she said.
At a memorial honoring Mengedoht on the fourth anniversary of her death, Pastor Bill Weedman said a mother whose son was arrested by the detective told him she was thankful for the respectful way Mengedoht had treated her son.
“She was also thankful and very grateful that Deidre went above and beyond, and she tried to get her son help for the addiction from which he struggled,” the pastor said.
Weedman said Mengedoht’s grandfather worried for her safety as a police officer.
“She always assured her grandfather that she felt God had called her to this profession,” he said. “She felt like God had placed her in this division — in this community here in the second Division — for a very special purpose.”
“To Deidre, this wasn’t just a job,” Weedman continued. “This wasn’t just a profession. This was her assignment from the living God. And she was here to fulfill that assignment.”
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