I-Team: What is FWPD's chase policy? The department won't say
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBSNewsTexas.com) - A high-speed police chase that killed an innocent bystander earlier this month has raised questions about the Fort Worth Police Department's pursuit policy, including what is the department's policy?
While several Texas police departments, including Dallas, post their vehicle pursuit policy on their department's website, Fort Worth's police department does not and has denied requests from the CBS News Texas I-Team to release it.
Instead, the department asked the Texas Attorney General's Office to rule the information exempt from public release. A department spokesperson said making the policy public "could put officers at risk or allow criminals to evade apprehension."
"I want to know the policy," said Nefertari Mundy whose brother Andra Craig, 57, was killed in the crash. "I want to know the legal policy and I want to know if it was followed."
On July 7, a Fort Worth police vehicle involved in a chase collided with Craig's vehicle at the intersection of Rosedale and Evans Ave. in south Fort Worth.
At the time of the crash, officers were in pursuit of a reported stolen vehicle. Witnesses said Craig had the green light when he entered the intersection.
"There was a life that was lost that was not involved – an innocent life," Mundy told the I-Team.
The Fort Worth Police Department has not said if the report of the stolen vehicle was the only reason officers engaged in the high-speed pursuit.
According to police records obtained by the I-Team, the suspects "threw an AR" weapon out the car window during the chase.
The incident started around 6:00 p.m. when one of the department's new Flock cameras altered officers in the area of a stolen purple Dodge Charger.
When officers spotted the vehicle in a neighborhood, according to police records, the suspects took off leading police on a two-mile chase.
The police report noted the officer's speed reached 100 miles an hour.
A department official told the I-Team the speed on the report was an estimate. An official speed will be released once accident investigators complete their investigation.
The posted speed limit on Evans Ave. is 30 miles an hour.
At one point during the brief pursuit, officers deployed stop sticks deflating one of the suspects' tires but the suspects kept going.
Security camera video from a local barber shop shows the police SUV more than 12 seconds behind the stolen car less than a hundred yards before the crash at the intersection.
Two blocks north of the crash, the two men inside the stolen vehicle jumped out and attempted to flee on foot. Both were quickly caught. The 18-year-old driver faces a murder charge in Craig's death. Both suspects are currently out on bond.
The I-Team reached out to 20 North Texas police departments about their vehicle pursuit policy. Nearly half had their pursuit policies posted online.
DALLAS (pg 78)
DESOTO (pg 161)
Seven other departments share their policies with the I-Team when requested.
Arlington police released a redacted policy.
A spokesman for Garland police said the department just updated its policy this month and the wording is still being finalized.
In addition to Fort Worth, McKinney and Grand Prairie police departments have asked the Texas Attorney General's Office to allow them to not release the policies under the state's public record laws.