Protocol Protects People

On Sept. 11, 1995, Paul West, a Deputy for Johnston County (North Carolina, USA), was shot and killed in the line of duty at age 27. Those words represent an ending to a life that was so much more.

Thirty years ago, Jason Barbour, Priority Dispatch Corp.’s Vice President of Client Operations, was a Deputy Sheriff for Johnston County and worked alongside West. Neighboring Raleigh Police Department requested Johnston County officers check an identity for a paper crime, a routine duty.

Barbour’s wife had a doctor’s appointment he wanted to attend, so West offered to go to the mobile home address. As the door opened, West was met with an assault rifle shot to his uniform belt, immediately struck by the butt of the gun to his head, then shot again near the badge on his chest. His companion, Lt. Ronald Medlin, was shot and injured.

A former telecommunicator wrote on West’s memorial page, “I do not have many days that I do not think of you or hear your voice calling me on the radio stating, ‘We've been shot’ … I still get chills thinking about it.”¹

The suspect was found guilty of first-degree murder a year after, still occupying death row today.² Yet the people who knew and loved West don’t like to focus on the person responsible for taking him from them.

They celebrate the brother, husband, and father; the man who coached T-ball, baseball, and basketball; the fishing expert; the U.S. Marine; and the officer who checked in on abused children.³

Today, West’s two sons and grandchildren can fish on the former Neuse River Bridge, renamed Deputy C. Paul West, Sr. Bridge in 2015.⁴

Passion for protocol
Barbour’s dedication to West’s memory has shaped both his personal and professional journey forward, never forgetting how he could have stood in West’s place that day 30 years ago.

With no blame for the professional efforts of emergency dispatchers, Barbour analyzed the events that led to his friend and comrade’s passing. Perhaps no one could have known the suspect’s history of violence or the presence of weapons, but had these questions been asked?

As his career advanced, Barbour was later named Johnston County Emergency Communications Director, a position he would hold for 21 years. At the forefront of his passion was the concept of structured calltaking. With West in mind, he aimed to ask the right questions before sending out responders.

Using the Medical Priority Dispatch System^™ (MPDS^®) as a foundation, Barbour desired to add the fire and police protocols to his agency. He joined the ground effort with Priority Dispatch Corp.^™ to launch version 1 of the Police Priority Dispatch System^™ (PPDS^®) in 2000, and Johnston County has continued to use the PPDS through version 7.1 today. In August 2011, Johnston County Emergency Communications became the third tri-ACE in the world.

While serving on the IAED^™ Police Council of Standards, Barbour noted huge philosophical changes inspiring the evolution of the PPDS over 25 years, especially with new customization options.

“Processing law enforcement can be different,” Barbour said. “When you’re responding to a cardiac arrest or structure fire, most agencies respond similarly, but handling a domestic violence or shooting incident really differs among jurisdictions.”

There’s a greater need for the PPDS today because it relieves emergency dispatchers’ burden of needing to know what to ask callers for varying incidents. The Police Protocol also prioritizes safety questions at its core, so weapons questions are asked on nearly every Chief Complaint Protocol.

Though it can’t bring back West, Barbour’s commitment has led to prioritizing officer safety from the beginning of each incident, with “Okay, tell me exactly what happened,” every time.

Sources
1.   “Deputy Sheriff Clendon Paul West, Sr. Reflections” Officer Down Memorial Page. 2025. https://www.odmp.org/officer/reflections/887-deputy-sheriff-clendon-paul-west-sr (accessed July 4, 2025).
2.   “Deputy Sheriff Clendon Paul West, Sr.” Officer Down Memorial Page. https://www.odmp.org/officer/887-deputy-sheriff-clendon-paul-west-sr (accessed July 4, 2025).
3.   See note 1.
4.   See note 1.