Death by Cop 2026
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Sterling Jones
Age : 22
Gender : Male
Race : Black
Date : 05/09/2026
Location : West Thompson Street and North 15th Street
City : Philadelphia
County : Philadelphia
State : Pennsylvania
Agency : Philadelphia Police Department
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Driver killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 05/09/2026, 22-year-old Sterling Jones was killed when the ATV he was driving collided with a Toyota sedan at West Thompson and North 15th streets in North Philadelphia. Newly obtained surveillance video and an investigation by attorneys representing Jones's father indicate that Philadelphia police officers were pursuing Jones immediately before the fatal crash.
The initiating reason for the police pursuit was Jones and other riders operating ATVs and dirt bikes on Philadelphia streets and allegedly performing wheelies near Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue. According to attorneys representing Jones's father, officers assigned to the Philadelphia Police Department's ATV and dirt-bike detail spotted the group and began pursuing them. Riding ATVs and dirt bikes on Philadelphia public streets is prohibited, but no violent felony or weapons offense was alleged as the reason officers began following Jones.
Police followed Jones north on Broad Street toward West Thompson Street. Surveillance footage obtained by the family's attorneys and independently viewed by The Philadelphia Inquirer shows a substantial police contingent following Jones. At least eight police officers riding dirt bikes, along with a police patrol vehicle and a tow vehicle, were visible behind him.
At approximately 9:23 p.m., surveillance footage showed Jones cutting through a Sunoco gas station and entering West Thompson Street. Jones then drove the ATV in the wrong direction on the one-way street and went through a red traffic light. Police dirt-bike officers were visible close behind him. Seconds later, Jones's ATV crashed into the driver's side of a Toyota sedan being operated by an Uber driver as the car turned onto 15th Street.
Jones suffered critical injuries and was transported to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
Philadelphia police's initial public account of Jones's death did not disclose that officers had been following him before the collision. The department has not publicly acknowledged whether it considers the officers' actions a formal police pursuit. The surveillance evidence subsequently obtained by the family's attorneys, however, shows multiple officers and police vehicles following Jones immediately before the crash.
The circumstances raise significant questions under Philadelphia Police Department Directive 9.4. Department policy permits vehicular pursuits only under limited circumstances, including situations involving imminent danger to others, flight following a violent felony, or possession of a deadly weapon used in a crime. The conduct that allegedly prompted officers to follow Jones — illegally riding an ATV on city streets and performing wheelies — does not itself fall within those enumerated categories.
The Philadelphia Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating the incident. Police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp declined to provide additional information about whether the department determined that officers were engaged in a pursuit or whether officers violated department policy.
Jones's father, Sterling Lamont Jones Sr., retained attorneys Thomas Kline and other lawyers from Kline & Specter and Hill & Associates to investigate his son's death. In July 2026, the attorneys filed a notice of intent to sue the City of Philadelphia, alleging that police violated Jones's constitutional rights and department pursuit policy and that the pursuit caused his fatal injuries.
Jones's father said he learned details about the police pursuit only after his son's death and wants the officers responsible held accountable. Jones was a graduate of Hunting Park Christian Academy and had worked for approximately two years as a delivery driver for the U.S. Postal Service. His father said Jones purchased the ATV with money he earned from that job.
The officers involved in following Jones have not been publicly identified.