Four die in Irving Police chase, questions arise
IRVING - The Irving Police Department has yet to say if officers followed the department's chase policy during a deadly chase Thursday morning.
Officer Anthony Alexander, a public information officer for the department, said the chase started in the 3200 block of Belt Line Road around 2 a.m. According to police, the vehicle would not stop for officers.
Alexander said the vehicle crashed at I-35 and Woodall Rogers. The four people inside the vehicle were killed after police said the driver lost control.
Sabria Denise Lacey, 21; Anthony Isaiah Lisbon, 21; DeAvion Raejon Aubert, 22; and Robert Alexander Gowans Jr., 21, were all killed in the crash.
"Officers are required to constantly monitor the situation as they're in pursuit of a vehicle," he said. "I will say that times goes fast, or it seems like it goes fast when you're in a pursuit. But it's their job to make sure that they're being safe at all times."
Thursday afternoon, IPD released dashcam video of the pursuit and the deadly crash but failed to address pursuit policy questions.
In records obtained by the CBS News Texas I-Team, Irving Police have been involved in 515 police chases between August 2018 and August 2023---more than 100 a year or over twice per week on average.
The records revealed that in 137 of the chases, police reached speeds of 100 miles per hour or higher. The documents show 76 of the chases ended in a crash.
A portion of the IPD chase policy also requires officers to continuously evaluate the need to apprehend a suspect against the risks created by continuing the pursuit. The same guide also acknowledges that pursuits are not predictable.
