Last Wednesday, Detroit was rocked with a horrific police chase that has resulted in the deaths of two children and serious injuries to three other children. According to witness statements, a Detroit police vehicle was engaged in a high speed chase through the community. Despite the presence of children, the police car initiated a maneuver known as a “precision immobilization technique” (TIP), where the rear of the suspect’s vehicle was hit causing the fleeing car to lose control and strike and kill two children.
Witnesses stated that the police car rear ended the vehicle, causing it to flip into the air. The vehicle struck Makiah Jackson, 3, and Michaelangelo Jackson, 6. The fleeing car dragged the children for some distance but the police did not end the chase. Instead, witnesses stated the police continued the chase, driving across front lawns on the next block, and crashed into the driveway of one home, hitting three more children and adults. Three children at the second home, Darius Andrews, Jr., 3, Isaiah Williams, 5, and Zyaire Gardner, 7, were critically injured. Gardner was flown to a hospital in Ann Arbor because his lungs had collapsed.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig has stated that a police supervisor attempted to call off the chase through the residential neighborhood but the officers never received the message. The policy of the Detroit Police is that a pursuit should be terminated if the danger to the public outweighs the need to immediately apprehend those fleeing. The police are blaming the fleeing driver Lorenzo Harris, 29, for the deaths and injuries from the accident.
This provides little solace for members of the community. All are outraged by the reckless behavior of the officers involved in the chase. A GoFundMe account has been setup to cover funeral expenses for the children who were killed. They will be buried on July 1.
