Sgt. L’Jean McKneely, a Baton Rouge police spokesperson, said Thursday’s police pursuit was under review and the crash is under investigation. It was not immediately clear how fast the cars were going before the crash.
Jordan, an attorney, said the Baton Rouge Police Department has “great procedures” governing chases but in some cases officers fail to follow the training. Stiffer penalties “are something that holds them more accountable,” he said.
Jordan noted the man who died in Thursday’s accident, Victor Remone Duncan, was not involved in the chase.
“We have got to make sure we are protecting the public,” he said.
The crash happened shortly after midnight, as police pursued a 22-year-old driver in a Nissan Altima who was running from an attempted traffic stop on Florida Boulevard near North Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge police said in a statement.
The attempted traffic stop was over an “improper equipment” violation, McKneely said.
The driver entered the intersection of North Acadian and Fairfields Avenue, a little over a mile from where the police pursuit began, and struck Duncan’s Ford truck. Duncan, 56, was brought to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The 22-year-old driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, police said.
McKneely said the driver, who has not yet been identified, will be arrested on a number of counts in the crash incident once he’s released from the hospital, and is also facing a number of outstanding felony arrest warrants.
Police chases became a prominent issue in the Baton Rouge region after the death of the Brusly High students, Maggie Dunn and Caroline Gill. Dunn’s brother, who was a passenger in the girls’ car, was seriously injured in the crash.
A grand jury charged the Addis police officer involved in the crash with manslaughter, and the local district attorney, Tony Clayton, has fiercely criticized how officers handled the chase.
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