A mother is heartbroken, and a Wisconsin community is finding its bearings after a police chase ended with three fatalities. The Monona Police department insists that its officer acted lawfully but is making a temporary policy change in relation to the crash. The investigation into the incident and the assessment of what constitutes a reasonable pursuit are still ongoing.
The crash occurred in Monona, Wisconsin, on January 1st. Police initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle due to ‘suspicious behavior,’ but instead of pulling over, the driver sped away. Officers deployed a spike strip in an attempt to disable the vehicle, but it ultimately crashed, resulting in the death of all three occupants. The deceased are two 30-year-olds and a 19-year-old.
Kimberly Brown, the mother of the teenager, spoke out against the pursuit tactics. “I’m so upset,” Brown said. “Like, that’s why you put spikes out? Because the car was under suspicion? They didn’t rob no bank. They didn’t kill anybody. None of that. Just the car was under suspicion.”
Read: VinFast Reportedly Had Cops Detain And Interrogate Critic Over Social Media Posts
Police Chief Brian Chaney spoke to that concern and tried to find a balance in the fog left by the accident. “I don’t want folks to only focus on the word suspicious,” Chaney said to Channel 3000. “I will say that there were other factors involved and that there is a legal reason for the traffic stop that is playing a factor here as well. Now’s the time to be supportive of, obviously, the family. But now knowing that I’m saying that the officer obeyed the law, and follow police policy and practice, we should continue to support the officer and this police department.”
It’s unclear why the driver fled the traffic stop or why the two passengers were in the vehicle with that driver. In addition, the Monona Police Department says that it’s cooperating fully with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Once the WDOJ is done with its investigation more details will likely come to light.
Ultimately the reality here is that had the driver of the car stopped for police the crash would’ve never happened. For the time being, the Monona Police Department has changed its pursuit policy to now “focus any pursuits on suspects who we believe to be involved in dangerous and violent felony offenses.” That makes it sound like had the policy been in place before the crash it might have prevented the deaths as well.