Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Ian McColgin
    Senior Member
    • Apr 1999
    • 51639

    Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

    [IMc - This story is bizarre and disgusting. Cowboy cops.]

    Police: Driver in fatal police chase a parole absconder
    Neighbors and family members of the two children killed and three critically injured share their thoughts on the June 24 police chase.

    By Robert Allen and By Gina Damron, Detroit Free Press 12:02 a.m. EDT June 26, 2015

    The driver of a Chevy Camaro that careened into five children – killing two – during a police chase is a fugitive, was denied parole multiple times and, when released to the community last year, absconded almost immediately, the Free Press has learned.

    Police said 29-year-old Lorenzo Harris, who has been on the lam since last year, is the man who led officers on a deadly 62-second chase through a residential neighborhood with a passenger in tow.

    The chase – which police said involved three special operations officers riding in a police vehicle – resulted in the deaths of two small children and three other children being critically injured.

    A police supervisor reported that he tried to call off the Wednesday night pursuit but was unsuccessful, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said. He said the officers never got the message.

    Craig said police now are evaluating whether the department's vehicular pursuits policy – which says a pursuit should be terminated if the danger to the public outweighs the need to immediately apprehend those fleeing – was followed.

    "Officers," the policy says, "must place the protection of human life over all other considerations."

    According to the policy, officers can chase if they have probable cause to believe a felony – and not just fleeing and eluding alone – "has been, is being or is about to be, committed." It also says they can pursue if officers see offenses that pose such a danger to the public that they outweigh the hazards of pursuing the fleeing vehicle.

    The officers reported that, before the pursuit, they saw someone in the car with a gun.

    But no gun has been found, Craig said.

    While the investigation into the incident continues, loved ones grieve for the young children and residents question the decision by officers to chase fleeing suspects into their neighborhood.

    Killed in the crash were siblings Makiah Jackson, 3, and Michaelangelo Jackson, 6, who had been "riding their little scooters up and down the sidewalk," playing with other neighborhood children at the time, their grandmother, Nicole Jackson, 40, said.

    "I can't believe it," she said. "I'm still trying to realize that they're not going to be here. They're gone. It's unreal."

    Now, as the families cope with the tragic loss, new details are coming to light about the man police say was behind the wheel.

    Records indicate Harris has a criminal history that includes resisting police and weapons, assault and stolen property offenses.

    He went to prison in May 2006 on a drug charge and was denied parole that year, said Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz.

    Harris was paroled in 2007, fled parole in September that year and was picked up in November, Gautz said. That month, according to Wayne County court records, Harris was charged with weapons offenses and found not guilty by a jury in February 2008.

    Gautz said Harris was returned to prison and denied parole three more times – in 2008, 2011 and 2012 – before being paroled in 2013 to the Detroit Reentry Center to do additional programming.

    On Feb. 25, 2014 Harris was released into the community and, the next day, he was listed as an absconder, Gautz said.

    On Wednesday, police said, Harris hit high speeds as he fled from police with his 26-year-old passenger after officers tried to pull them over. Craig said the officers said they saw someone in the Camaro with a gun.

    The pursuit, which began at Chatsworth and Cornwall streets around 7:30 p.m., lasted just over a minute, police said.

    According to police, the car hit Makiah and Michaelangeo, then continued along the sidewalk, crossing Frankfort and continuing across front yards, where the rest of the victims were hit, police said.

    Darius Andrews, Jr., 3; Isaiah Williams, 5; and Zyaire Gardner, 7, all remain in critical condition Thursday morning, said Darius Andrews Sr., the father of Darius Jr., uncle of Isaiah and cousin of Zyaire.

    He said both of Zyaire's lungs collapsed, Isaiah had a baseball-sized swollen gash on his eye and Darius Jr. is in a neck brace. According to police, the passenger in the Camaro was also taken to the hospital and another bystander was injured, but not critically.

    Andrews said he was nearby and ran to his son's side after the crash Wednesday.

    "I wanted to go chase them, beat them down. Instead, I stayed with my son," Andrews said. "I picked him up, held him, told him it's going to be OK."

    Neighbor James Stephenson, 51, said he heard the crash and came out to see a horrifying scene, with multiple children hit. He said the Camaro slammed into a porch, where its airbags burst. One person in the car got out, ran and police chased him.

    Andrews said he is unhappy with police.

    "When he hit those kids on the first block, it should have got shut down," he said of the fleeing suspect. "But guess what: He ran like a coward. And guess what: The police chased him and this happened. This is ridiculous."

    The policy on vehicular pursuits says that, when deciding whether to chase a fleeing vehicle, officers have to "evaluate the seriousness of the offense and the risk of initiating the pursuit."

    It says the officers' decision to start or continue a pursuit should be made after considering such factors as the nature of the violation, time of day, weather conditions, location and speed required to maintain the pursuit.

    The policy – which says it was effective June 2014 and is reviewed annually – says a pursuit can be terminated by the units involved, the monitoring patrol supervisor, a ranking member of the department and, in the event a patrol supervisor has not assumed responsibility as the "monitoring supervisor," a communications supervisor.

    It says the "monitoring patrol supervisor shall constantly assess the circumstances surrounding the pursuit" and terminate it when the circumstances warrant that.

    Craig said he directed a change to the policy last year because "the policy was silent on supervisory management and I wanted it in there." He said it is "a best practice."

    For Ron Antczak, 43 – the fiancé of Nicole Jackson, grandmother of the children who were killed – the blame falls on both the fleeing suspects and the police.

    "Police should know better than to chase people down a residential street," he said. "Why would you do it on a residential street where there's kids?"

    Now, he said, the family is left planning two funerals.

    Free Press staff writer Daniel Bethencourt contributed to this report.
  • Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
    treetop flyer
    • Sep 2003
    • 23853

    #2
    Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

    Kids that little should be in the backyard with parental supervision.
    Keep calm, persistence beats resistance.

    Comment

    • Phillip Allen
      new member
      • May 2002
      • 63618

      #3
      Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

      sigh...
      The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.
      Personal failures are too important to be trusted to others.

      Comment

      • Paul Pless
        pinko commie tree hugger
        • Oct 2003
        • 124805

        #4
        Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

        Originally posted by Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
        Kids that little should be in the backyard with parental supervision.
        They were on a sidewalk.
        Simpler is better, except when complicated looks really cool.

        Comment

        • Canoeyawl
          .
          • Jun 2003
          • 37698

          #5
          Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

          " A police supervisor reported that he tried to call off the Wednesday night pursuit but was unsuccessful, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said. He said the officers never got the message".

          I don't believe this for a second.

          Comment

          • Ian McColgin
            Senior Member
            • Apr 1999
            • 51639

            #6
            Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

            And the launching to the fleeing car was caused by the police car deliberatly bumbing it. If nothing else, this is negligent homocide. It became criminal when the pursuing officers flagrently and deliberately violated their department's policies.

            Comment

            • Paul Pless
              pinko commie tree hugger
              • Oct 2003
              • 124805

              #7
              Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

              Originally posted by Canoeyawl
              " A police supervisor reported that he tried to call off the Wednesday night pursuit but was unsuccessful, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said. He said the officers never got the message".

              I don't believe this for a second.
              Neither do I. The whole episode lasted less than two minutes. . .
              Simpler is better, except when complicated looks really cool.

              Comment

              • Ian McColgin
                Senior Member
                • Apr 1999
                • 51639

                #8
                Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                [IMc - While the initial reports support some blame to the police, the major crime is the fleeing driver. This is being reinforced by the story slant we're seeing now. Some of this may be a difference between the News and the Free Press. We'll see as the story evolves. Remembering always that breaking news is just history's first draft, always incomplete and unreflected.]

                Driver in chase that killed 2 kids charged with murder
                George Hunter, The Detroit News 9:12 p.m. EDT June 26, 2015

                Detroit — The 29-year-old parole absconder who allegedly fled police and drove his car into a crowd on a residential street, killing two children, has been charged with murder.

                Lorenzo Harris of Detroit reportedly drove his Chevrolet Camaro into two groups of children on Nottingham Street on the city's east side, killing 6-year-old Michelangelo Jackson and 3-year-old Makiah Jackson, and injuring three other children.

                Harris is scheduled to be arraigned Saturday on two counts of second-degree murder, fleeing and eluding, first degree, leaving the scene of an accident when at fault causing death, reckless driving causing serious impairment, and carrying a concealed weapon, among other charges.

                Michelangelo and Makiah were playing on the sidewalk outside a home Wednesday evening on Nottingham when they were killed. The car continued through front yards along the street, eventually hitting three more children and a 23-year-old woman before crashing into a porch.

                The chase lasted a little over a minute and spanned 1.64 miles, with the Camaro averaging a speed of 95 mph, according to Detroit Police Chief James Craig.

                At a vigil Thursday night after the crash, family friend Victoria Bell recounted the seconds leading up to the crash. She said she barely had enough time to jump out of the way and scream "watch out" before the Camaro raced up the curb and hit the children.

                "I can see their faces now ... ," she said, her voice trailing off. "Oh, my God."

                In the wake of the accident, Craig said his department is reviewing its pursuit policy.

                Craig said the patrol supervisor reported trying to call off the chase, though police do not yet have confirmation of that. Police didn't find a gun in the Camaro, despite reports from officers that they gave chase because they saw a weapon, Craig said.

                Harris and his passenger were arrested after the crash. The passenger has not been charged.

                Harris is on parole for a 2006 methamphetamine possession case. He was listed by state Corrections officials as absconding Feb. 25, 2014. Records show he also served time for assault, attempted carrying a concealed weapon, resisting a police officer and receiving stolen property.

                Harris is to be arraigned in 34th District Court in Romulus.

                [email protected]

                Staff Writer Mark Hicks and Associated Press contributed.

                Comment

                • Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
                  treetop flyer
                  • Sep 2003
                  • 23853

                  #9
                  Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                  Where I lived there was no tree lawn.
                  The sidewalk is right next to the street.
                  After we lost our dog to the street and too fast cars, I put up 800 feet of 6 foot tall chain link fence in the backyard.
                  My boys were 7, 5,and 2 at the time.
                  They're now 30,28, and 25 with kids of their own.
                  It's a dangerous world we live in.
                  When I was a kid we played in the street but it's a different world now.
                  Keep calm, persistence beats resistance.

                  Comment

                  • Phillip Allen
                    new member
                    • May 2002
                    • 63618

                    #10
                    Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                    Originally posted by Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
                    Kids that little should be in the backyard with parental supervision.
                    you and Bob Adams... (shaking my head now)
                    The doctrine of nonresistance against arbitrary power, and oppression, is absurd, slavish, and destructive of the good and happiness of mankind.
                    Personal failures are too important to be trusted to others.

                    Comment

                    • Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
                      treetop flyer
                      • Sep 2003
                      • 23853

                      #11
                      Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                      Be specific Phil.
                      Keep calm, persistence beats resistance.

                      Comment

                      • Ian McColgin
                        Senior Member
                        • Apr 1999
                        • 51639

                        #12
                        Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                        I think that Phil means, and I agree, that it's not right to blame the children for being on a sidewalk when an out-of-control police chase when wrong.

                        Comment

                        • Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
                          treetop flyer
                          • Sep 2003
                          • 23853

                          #13
                          Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                          I'm not blaming the kids, I'm blaming the parents.
                          Keep calm, persistence beats resistance.

                          Comment

                          • birlinn
                            Isle of Mull, Scotland
                            • Jul 2011
                            • 10883

                            #14
                            Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                            Originally posted by Domesticated_Mr. Know It All
                            I'm not blaming the kids, I'm blaming the parents.
                            And not the cops?

                            Comment

                            • Ian McColgin
                              Senior Member
                              • Apr 1999
                              • 51639

                              #15
                              Re: Dead Kids in Police Chase Wake

                              I am happy that I grew up without excess hovering parental supervision. We went in the woods or down the street or to the common for a community stick ball game and were not expected home till dark.

                              One of the signs of a wholesome family neighborhood in dense housing is that children can move safely on the sidewalks, visiting and playing with neighbors and so on. True when I grew up in the fifties and true today. True even in my neighborhood of Hyannis which has the most racial diversity and has enough drug and crime problems that we also have a great community watch. Children and old folks from the nursing home and somewhat odd folk from the residential treatment centers and passing tourists headed from a B&B to the beach all walk our sidewalks with every expectation that passing cars will stick to their road. If any of them were to be hit by a speeding car knocked out of control by a pursuing cop, I'd be blaming the driver and cop, not the parents or nurses or caseworkers or summer folk.

                              It's not wrong for those children to be out front on the sidewalk. It's wrong for anyone to speed on that street, doubly wrong for running a high speed chase down such a street, and reckless in the extreme to bump the rear of the fleeing jerk.

                              I blame the fleeing driver mostly and the cowboy cops secondarily. Neither has any legal excuse for this tragedy.

                              Comment

                              Working...