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On 07/31/2021, Keith Wayne Homrighausen was shot and killed by deputies with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in Centennial, Colorado. Deputies responded to a report of a fight between two men at a family gathering near South Jericho Street. When deputies arrived, Homrighausen retreated into a garage and barricaded himself. He was observed with a handgun and refused to exit the garage. According to investigators, Homrighausen fired at deputies multiple times during the encounter. Deputies returned fire. A SWAT team later entered the garage and found Homrighausen deceased. The Arapahoe County coroner ruled his manner of death a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds. An official review later concluded the deputies’ use of force was legally justified.

https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/coroner-finds-sheriffs-deputies-shot-killed-man-in-garage-shootout-in-centennial/
https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/centennial-officer-involved-shooting-suspect-dead-garage/73-8d281842-0ae2-40ee-bb61-5994dd8bf384
https://arapahoeco.gov/Coda18/Documents/Blogs/CIRT-Case-21-08.pdf?t=202412070205120
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/denver-co/keith-homrighausen-10295484
https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/centennial-officer-involved-shooting-suspect-dead-garage/73-8d281842-0ae2-40ee-bb61-5994dd8bf384

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/08/03/arapahoe-county-deputies-shootout-man-identified/

On 07/31/2021, Ruben Isaac Sanchez was shot and killed by deputies with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office in Woodville, California. Deputies received a tip that Sanchez was at a cemetery and responded to the location. According to law enforcement, deputies encountered Sanchez and gunfire occurred during the encounter. Deputies opened fire, striking Sanchez. He was transported to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Authorities stated that Sanchez had been sought in connection with a killing reported earlier that day. The shooting was investigated by the sheriff’s office and outside authorities.

https://tularecounty.ca.gov/sheriff/media/news-releases-2021/happening-now-tcso-deputies-on-scene-of-officer-involved-shooting-with-woodville-murder-suspect
https://abc30.com/post/tulare-murder-domestic-violence-homicide-woodville-shooting/10927976/
https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/tulare-county-deputies-ask-for-help-in-search-of-murder-suspect/
 

A deputy from the Nassau County Sheriff's Office was called to a home around 1:30 p.m. following reports that a man had been threatening to harm himself. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with the man through a small window of a side door. The man became agitated, burst through the door holding a large butcher knife in each hand, and allegedly lunged at the deputy, who shot and killed him.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/07/31/officer-involved-shooting-reported-in-yulee/

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Traffic violations and suspected impaired driving. At approximately 4:08 a.m., Celina Police Department officers observed Chad R. Rammel driving a blue 2004 Acura south on Brandon Avenue and saw him travel through a stop sign without stopping. Officers followed and reported that the Acura was swerving in the roadway. After Rammel turned onto Market Street, officers activated their emergency lights and attempted a traffic stop. When he continued west, officers activated their siren and pursued.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/31/2021, 33-year-old Chad R. Rammel of Celina was killed when his 2004 Acura crashed approximately five minutes after Celina police attempted to stop him for running a stop sign and swerving. Police pursued briefly but terminated the chase when Rammel accelerated to more than 95 mph. He continued driving after officers discontinued the pursuit and subsequently crashed on Mud Pike Road near State Route 118.
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At approximately 4:08 a.m., Celina officers observed Rammel traveling south on Brandon Avenue. Police reported that he drove through a stop sign without stopping and then swerved while continuing along the roadway. Officers initially followed the Acura rather than immediately initiating a pursuit.
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Rammel turned onto Market Street. Officers activated their emergency lights to signal him to stop. When he continued westbound, officers activated a siren. Police reported that Rammel then accelerated to speeds exceeding 95 mph.
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Celina officers discontinued all efforts to stop Rammel because of the speed. The department stated that terminating the pursuit was required by Celina Police Department policy under the circumstances. This was therefore a terminated pursuit rather than a continuous police chase extending to the crash scene.
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At approximately 4:13 a.m., about five minutes after officers first observed the Acura, Mercer County Central Dispatch received a report of a crash on Mud Pike Road at State Route 118 outside Celina. Ohio State Highway Patrol and Mercer County Sheriff's Office personnel responded.
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Ohio State Highway Patrol determined that Rammel's Acura traveled off the roadway, struck a tree and a fence, overturned and then struck an SUV parked in a driveway. Rammel was found dead at the scene.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact was reported. Police specifically stated that officers had discontinued their effort to stop Rammel before the collision. The publicly available accounts establish that Rammel exceeded 95 mph during the police pursuit but do not provide his speed at impact, the precise point where officers terminated the pursuit, the distance from that point to the crash scene, or the elapsed time between termination and collision.
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Ohio State Highway Patrol's Wapakoneta Post investigated the fatal collision because the crash occurred outside Celina city limits. The Mercer County Sheriff's Office also responded to the scene.
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Rammel was born on 08/09/1987 in Coldwater and graduated from Celina High School in 2005. He was married to Nicole Rammel and was a father of four. He worked as a self-employed CAD programmer and for EDC Machining. His family remembered him as an outdoorsman and “grill master” who enjoyed fishing, camping, kayaking, bicycling, RC-car racing, longboarding and building computers.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Celina Police Department officers who attempted to stop and briefly pursued Chad Rammel have not been publicly identified in the sources located for this reconstruction.

https://mercercountyoutlook.net/2021/07/31/celina-man-dies-in-crash-after-police-had-already-aborted-chase/
https://www.dailystandard.com/archive/2021-08-02/stories/43446/1-dead-in-crash-after-cop-chase
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/chad-rammel-obituary?id=6206488
https://www.ciscofuneralhome.com/obituaries/chad-rammel

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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/31/2021, an unidentified civilian driver was killed in a head-on collision with an on-duty U.S. Border Patrol vehicle driven by Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Daniel P. Cox on State Route 86 near Milepost 128 outside Sells, Arizona. The civilian was the sole person in the vehicle. Cox was also killed.
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The collision occurred at approximately 12:20 a.m. on State Route 86 on the Tohono O'odham Reservation, approximately 60 miles southwest of Tucson. Cox was working in the Tucson Sector and was returning toward Tucson after working on the Tohono O'odham Reservation.
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Cox's Border Patrol vehicle and the civilian vehicle collided head-on. Multiple emergency-response agencies, including an air-medical helicopter, responded. Cox and the civilian driver were pronounced dead shortly after the collision. No passengers were reported in either vehicle.
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Contemporary Border Patrol and news accounts released few details explaining how the vehicles came to collide. Later Border Patrol memorial material states that the civilian vehicle crossed the center line and struck Cox's Border Patrol vehicle head-on and describes the civilian driver as intoxicated. That information was not included in the initial public account and should therefore be attributed to the later Border Patrol account rather than stated as an independently established fact.
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The Tohono O'odham Police Department investigated the fatal collision. Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris Jr. publicly acknowledged that two people had died and offered condolences to both families.
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The civilian driver's name, age and biographical information were not disclosed in the contemporary reporting located for this reconstruction. The ACLU's subsequent CBP Fatal Encounters Tracker likewise records the civilian as an unidentified adult and does not supply a name.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Daniel Paul Cox was a Supervisory Border Patrol Agent assigned to the Tucson Sector and a member of Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue, or BORSTAR. He entered the Border Patrol on 07/28/1997 and had served approximately 24 years. Cox was 52 and a U.S. Army veteran. He was returning toward Tucson from work on the Tohono O'odham Reservation when the fatal collision occurred.

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/border-patrol-agent-2nd-driver-killed-in-crash-in-arizona
https://www.kold.com/2021/07/31/border-patrol-agent-dies-car-crash/
https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2021/07/31/tucson-sector-border-patrol-agent-killed-in-head-on-collision/
https://www.univision.com/local/arizona-ktvw/muere-daniel-cox-agente-de-la-patrulla-fronteriza-en-accidente-vehicular-en-arizona
https://www.odmp.org/search?filter=nok9&from=2021&state=Arizona&to=2021
https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/cbp_fatal_encounters_details_-_06072022.pdf
https://www.honorfirst.com/us-border-patrol-fallen.html

On 07/30/2021, Celina Police Department officers responded at approximately 9:00 p.m. to a report of a suspicious person in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 100 block of South Alabama Street. Officers encountered Luis Fernando Flores, a 44-year-old McKinney resident, who police said was armed with a handgun. Officers shot Flores during the encounter. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities released almost no information about the events leading to the shooting. Police did not publicly explain what Flores was doing before officers arrived, what prompted officers to fire, whether any verbal commands were given, whether de-escalation was attempted, whether Flores discharged or pointed the firearm, how many officers fired, how many shots were fired, or whether body-worn camera footage existed. The identities of the officers involved were never publicly released.
The Texas Rangers conducted the criminal investigation, as is customary for many officer-involved shootings in Texas. However, no public announcement of criminal charges against any officer, grand jury action, disciplinary findings, or a detailed investigative report could be located. Likewise, no publicly reported civil lawsuit or settlement arising from Flores' death was found. As a result, many of the key circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unknown.
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https://www.fox4news.com/news/1-dead-following-officer-involved-shooting-in-celina

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST unit officers encountered a 2019 Nissan Rogue that had been stolen from Rapids Water Park earlier that afternoon. Fourteen-year-old Jay’Oni Leonard was a passenger in the SUV. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, which was driven by 17-year-old Christopher Garrett Jr., and Sterk and Stripling pursued it north on Beeline Highway.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, 14-year-old Jay’Oni Leonard was killed while riding as a passenger in a stolen Nissan Rogue that crashed after West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers pursued it north on Beeline Highway. Seventeen-year-old passenger Alexia Simpson and uninvolved motorists Elizabeth Anderson and George Nienhouse were also killed.
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West Palm Beach GHOST officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling attempted to stop the Nissan and pursued it north on Beeline Highway. Detective Pierre Etienne reported that he was approximately six to eight cars behind Sterk and Stripling and became stuck in traffic. Etienne said he did not activate his emergency lights or body camera during the attempted stop.
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Sterk and Stripling later reported that at approximately 4:05 p.m., roughly one minute after initiating the pursuit, they discontinued it at Northlake Boulevard. That location was approximately 3½ miles south of the eventual crash scene. They said they stopped there and notified other officers.
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Later-obtained body-camera evidence raised questions about that account. At the crash scene, Stripling told another officer, “We followed it down just to make sure it was out of the area,” and said they then encountered the crash. WLRN reported in 2026 that this statement was inconsistent with the officers' written accounts that they had remained at Northlake Boulevard after terminating the pursuit.
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The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the fatal collision, maintained that evidence showed the formal pursuit ended at Northlake Boulevard and Beeline Highway. No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks or police-vehicle contact with the Nissan was identified.
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Garrett continued north on Beeline Highway toward PGA Boulevard. Crash investigators subsequently determined that he was traveling approximately 98 mph immediately before the collision. Later criminal-case reporting described his speed as exceeding 100 mph during the events preceding the crash.
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At approximately 4:09 p.m., Garrett entered the intersection of Beeline Highway and PGA Boulevard against a red traffic signal. His Nissan struck the left side of a 2010 Nissan Xterra driven by 62-year-old Elizabeth Anderson. Anderson's passenger was 65-year-old George Nienhouse.
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The impact caused Anderson to lose control of the Xterra and be ejected. Anderson and Nienhouse were pronounced dead at the scene. Jay’Oni was also pronounced dead at the scene. Alexia Simpson was transported to a hospital, where she died. Garrett survived with critical injuries.
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Jay’Oni was only 14 years old and was living in foster care in the West Palm Beach area. Garrett and Alexia were also foster youths, although the three teenagers lived in different foster homes.
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Investigators subsequently determined that Garrett had Delta-9 THC in his blood. That finding was developed after the collision and was not the reason police initiated the pursuit; police became involved because the Nissan had been reported stolen.
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Garrett was prosecuted as an adult. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of grand theft. On 05/12/2022, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors dropped four DUI-manslaughter counts and four counts involving driving without a valid license causing death or serious injury as part of the disposition.
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The police role in the pursuit received renewed scrutiny years later. WLRN obtained police records and body-camera footage and reported in January 2026 that the GHOST unit's involvement in the fatal pursuit had not previously been publicly disclosed in detail. The records identified Sterk and Stripling as the officers conducting the pursuit and Etienne as following behind.
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The reporting also found that West Palm Beach Police Department had no written objectives, training manuals or unit-specific policies for GHOST, a specialized Gang and Habitual Offender Suppression Team operating with unmarked vehicles and a separate radio channel.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling pursued the Nissan. Pierre Etienne was following behind and arrived at the fatal crash approximately one minute after the first 911 call. Etienne reported that he had been stuck six to eight cars behind the other officers and had not activated his emergency lights or body camera.
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Etienne subsequently became involved in another fatal West Palm Beach police pursuit on 07/30/2024, exactly three years after Jay’Oni's death. That pursuit ended with uninvolved motorists Marcia Pochette and her pregnant daughter Jenice Woods being killed. In 2025, Etienne and six other West Palm Beach officers were criminally charged in connection with their conduct surrounding that later pursuit. Etienne was charged with two felony counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and official misconduct. The charges are allegations and remain distinct from the 2021 case.
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DISPOSITION:
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal West Palm Beach police pursuit had terminated at Northlake Boulevard approximately 3½ miles before the fatal collision. No criminal charges against Sterk, Stripling or Etienne resulted from the 2021 pursuit. Subsequent body-camera evidence and investigative reporting raised questions about whether officers continued following Garrett after the point at which they reported terminating the pursuit.
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https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/teen-charged-speeding-crash-killed-4/67-79b998ee-173e-4255-905f-73e6fa879fb0
https://www.wptv.com/news/crime/christopher-garrett-jr-charged-as-adult-in-crash-that-killed-4-on-beeline-highway
https://www.wpbf.com/article/deadly-crash-shuts-down-beeline-highway-near-pga-boulevard/37184576
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/judge-rejects-plea-deal-deadly-palm-beach-crash/
https://www.wlrn.org/wlrn-investigations/2026-01-16/revealed-cops-in-south-florida-elite-ghost-unit-left-a-trail-of-red-flags-before-deadly-chase
https://www.wlrn.org/wlrn-investigations/2026-07-08/lawsuit-west-palm-beach-ghost-chases-wlrn-investigation

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers encountered a stolen 2019 Nissan Rogue driven by 17-year-old Christopher Garrett Jr. The Nissan had been stolen after Garrett and two friends left a foster-care group outing at Rapids Water Park and took a patron’s purse containing the vehicle's key fob. Police had information that the three missing teenagers were in the stolen, previously unoccupied vehicle. GHOST officers attempted to stop the Nissan near Beeline Highway and Jog Road, and officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling pursued when Garrett continued driving away.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, 17-year-old Alexia Simpson was killed while riding as a passenger in a stolen Nissan Rogue pursued by West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers. Fourteen-year-old passenger Jay’Oni Leonard and uninvolved motorists Elizabeth Anderson and George Nienhouse were also killed. Garrett survived with critical injuries.
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Alexia, Garrett and Jay’Oni were teenagers living in foster care in the West Palm Beach area. They lived in different foster homes. Earlier that day, Garrett had left a group-home outing at Rapids Water Park with the two girls. The Nissan they subsequently entered had been reported stolen, and Riviera Beach police circulated information concerning the missing teenagers and stolen vehicle.
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West Palm Beach GHOST officers located and conducted surveillance of the Nissan. Sterk and Stripling activated their emergency equipment and attempted a traffic stop near Beeline Highway and Jog Road. Garrett continued driving north and the officers pursued. Detective Pierre Etienne followed farther behind the two officers.
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Sterk and Stripling subsequently reported that they terminated the pursuit at approximately 4:05 p.m. near Northlake Boulevard, about one minute after it began and approximately 3½ miles south of the eventual crash. They reported remaining at Northlake Boulevard after discontinuing the pursuit.
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Evidence obtained years later raised questions about that account. Body-camera footage recorded Stripling at the fatal crash scene telling another officer that police had “followed it down” to make sure the Nissan was out of the area before encountering the crash. WLRN reported in 2026 that the statement was inconsistent with written accounts indicating the officers remained at Northlake Boulevard after terminating the pursuit.
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The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office nevertheless concluded from its investigation that the formal pursuit ended at Northlake Boulevard and Beeline Highway. No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact with the Nissan was identified.
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Garrett continued north toward PGA Boulevard at extremely high speed. Investigators determined that he entered the intersection against a red traffic signal while traveling at approximately 100 mph or more.
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The Nissan struck the left side of a 2010 Nissan Xterra driven by 62-year-old Elizabeth Anderson. The impact caused Anderson to lose control and be ejected. Anderson and her passenger, 65-year-old George Nienhouse, died at the scene.
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Jay’Oni was also pronounced dead at the scene. Alexia survived the initial impact and was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. Garrett survived and was initially hospitalized in critical condition.
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Alexia was only 17 and was living in foster care when she died. ChildNet, the foster-care placement organization, confirmed that Alexia, Jay’Oni and Garrett were foster youths but lived in separate foster homes. Alexia's death therefore ended the life of a teenager who was already navigating the foster-care system, not merely an unnamed passenger in Garrett's vehicle.
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Investigators later reported that toxicology testing found Delta-9 THC in Garrett's blood. That evidence was developed after the crash and was not the reason West Palm Beach police initiated the attempted stop; police pursued because the Nissan had been reported stolen.
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Garrett was prosecuted as an adult. A judge rejected an initial plea agreement calling for a 10-year prison term, stating that the proposed punishment was inadequate given the four deaths. Garrett subsequently pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of grand theft and was sentenced on 05/12/2022 to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors dropped the DUI-manslaughter and other counts under the plea agreement.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling conducted the pursuit. Detective Pierre Etienne followed behind them. Records obtained by WLRN in 2026 showed that the specialized GHOST unit operated with unmarked vehicles and a separate radio channel and lacked written unit-specific objectives, training manuals and policies.
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Etienne subsequently became involved in another fatal West Palm Beach police pursuit on 07/30/2024, exactly three years after Alexia's death. That pursuit killed uninvolved motorists Marcia Pochette and her pregnant daughter Jenice Woods. Etienne and other officers were subsequently criminally charged over conduct associated with that later case. Those charges concern the separate 2024 incident and do not establish criminal wrongdoing by Etienne in Alexia's death.
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DISPOSITION:
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal police pursuit ended approximately 3½ miles before the fatal collision. No officers were criminally charged over the 2021 pursuit. Later body-camera evidence and investigative reporting raised questions about whether GHOST officers nevertheless continued following the Nissan after the point where they reported terminating the pursuit. Garrett pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and grand theft and received a 15-year prison sentence.
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https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/teen-charged-speeding-crash-killed-4/67-79b998ee-173e-4255-905f-73e6fa879fb0
https://www.wpbf.com/article/deadly-crash-shuts-down-beeline-highway-near-pga-boulevard/37184576
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article254256933.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/judge-rejects-plea-deal-deadly-palm-beach-crash/
https://www.wptv.com/news/crime/christopher-garrett-jr-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-fatal-beeline-highway-crash
https://www.wlrn.org/wlrn-investigations/2026-01-16/revealed-cops-in-south-florida-elite-ghost-unit-left-a-trail-of-red-flags-before-deadly-chase

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers attempted to stop a stolen Nissan Rogue driven by 17-year-old Christopher Garrett Jr. near Beeline Highway and Jog Road. Officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling pursued the Nissan north on Beeline Highway. George Nienhouse was an uninvolved passenger in another vehicle and had no connection to the stolen Nissan or its occupants.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, 65-year-old George John Nienhouse Jr. was killed while riding as a passenger in a Nissan Xterra driven by 62-year-old Elizabeth Anderson when a stolen Nissan Rogue that West Palm Beach police had pursued crashed into their vehicle at Beeline Highway and PGA Boulevard. Anderson, teenage passengers Alexia Simpson and Jay’Oni Leonard, and Nienhouse were all killed.
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Sterk and Stripling pursued Garrett north after attempting to stop the stolen Nissan. Detective Pierre Etienne followed farther behind. Sterk and Stripling subsequently reported that they terminated the pursuit near Northlake Boulevard approximately 3½ miles before the eventual crash.
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Body-camera evidence obtained years later raised questions about whether their involvement actually ended there. At the fatal crash scene, Stripling told another officer that they had followed the Nissan farther north to ensure it was out of the area. WLRN reported that the statement conflicted with the officers' written accounts of remaining at Northlake Boulevard.
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Garrett continued north on Beeline Highway at extremely high speed. At PGA Boulevard, investigators determined that he entered the intersection against a red light at approximately 100 mph or more and struck the left side of the Xterra in which Nienhouse was riding.
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The impact caused Anderson to lose control and be ejected. Anderson and Nienhouse were pronounced dead at the scene. Jay’Oni was also pronounced dead there, while Alexia was transported to a hospital and subsequently died.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact with Garrett's Nissan was identified. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal police pursuit had ended before the collision.
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George was born on 03/14/1956 and was 65 when he died. His obituary describes a deeply involved father and grandfather who left behind a daughter, a son and five granddaughters who adored him. He was regarded as the patriarch of his family.
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His family remembered a man with a big personality and a strong sense of humor: someone famous among them for his stories, porch time, unconventional gifts, unfiltered comments and contagious laugh. He loved the outdoors and adventure and was remembered as dependable, principled and willing to guide younger men. His obituary described him as someone who knew how to balance life's responsibilities with family, friendship and enjoyment.
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Garrett was prosecuted as an adult for the four deaths. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of grand theft. On 05/12/2022, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
West Palm Beach GHOST officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling conducted the pursuit, with Detective Pierre Etienne following behind. Subsequent investigative reporting found that the specialized GHOST unit operated using unmarked vehicles and a separate radio channel without written unit-specific objectives, training manuals or policies.
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Etienne subsequently became involved in a separate fatal West Palm Beach pursuit on 07/30/2024 that killed uninvolved motorists Marcia Pochette and her pregnant daughter Jenice Woods and later resulted in criminal charges against Etienne and other officers. Those allegations concern the later pursuit and do not establish wrongdoing in Nienhouse's case.
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DISPOSITION:
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal police pursuit terminated near Northlake Boulevard approximately 3½ miles before the fatal collision. No officer was criminally charged over the 2021 pursuit. Later body-camera evidence raised questions about whether GHOST officers continued following Garrett after their stated termination point. Garrett pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and grand theft and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/teen-charged-speeding-crash-killed-4/67-79b998ee-173e-4255-905f-73e6fa879fb0
https://www.wpbf.com/article/deadly-crash-shuts-down-beeline-highway-near-pga-boulevard/37184576
https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/elizabeth-anderson-pbso-employee-killed-in-crash
https://www.pbcpba.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FLC_SUMMER21.pdf
https://www.wlrn.org/wlrn-investigations/2026-01-16/revealed-cops-in-south-florida-elite-ghost-unit-left-a-trail-of-red-flags-before-deadly-chase
https://www.wptv.com/news/crime/christopher-garrett-jr-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-fatal-beeline-highway-crash

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers attempted to stop a stolen Nissan Rogue driven by 17-year-old Christopher Garrett Jr. near Beeline Highway and Jog Road. Officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling pursued when Garrett continued north. Anderson had no connection to the stolen vehicle, its occupants or the police pursuit.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, 62-year-old Elizabeth “Beth” Anderson was killed when a stolen Nissan Rogue that West Palm Beach police had pursued crashed into her Nissan Xterra at Beeline Highway and PGA Boulevard. Anderson was an uninvolved motorist. Her passenger, 65-year-old George Nienhouse, and two teenage passengers in the pursued Nissan, Alexia Simpson and Jay’Oni Leonard, were also killed.
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Sterk and Stripling attempted to stop the Nissan near Beeline Highway and Jog Road and pursued Garrett north. Detective Pierre Etienne followed farther behind. The officers knew the Nissan had been reported stolen and had received information concerning the teenagers traveling in it.
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Sterk and Stripling later reported terminating the pursuit at Northlake Boulevard at approximately 4:05 p.m., about 3½ miles before the fatal collision. Later-released body-camera footage complicated that account because Stripling told another officer at the crash scene that they had followed the Nissan farther north to make sure it left the area.
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At approximately 4:09 p.m., Garrett approached PGA Boulevard at approximately 100 mph or more and entered the intersection against a red traffic signal. Anderson was driving a 2010 Nissan Xterra through the intersection when Garrett's Nissan struck its left side.
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The violent impact caused Anderson to lose control of the Xterra and ejected her. Anderson and Nienhouse were pronounced dead at the scene.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or police-vehicle collision with Garrett's Nissan was identified. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal police pursuit had ended at Northlake Boulevard before the crash, although subsequent body-camera evidence raised questions about whether the officers continued following the Nissan afterward.
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Beth Anderson was not simply an anonymous motorist caught in the path of the pursuit. She had worked for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for 25 years as a warrant specialist and had recently entered the agency's Deferred Retirement Option Program. Her death therefore struck the same sheriff's office that was tasked with investigating the fatal collision.
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Coworkers remembered Anderson for an unusually cheerful personality. She loved music and karaoke and was known around PBSO for giving coworkers nicknames and doing small things to brighten their days. A memorial published by the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association described her as someone whose happiness and warmth were immediately recognizable to the people who worked with her.
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Anderson was also the mother of WPTV assistant chief engineer Tom Anderson. Her death therefore affected both the Palm Beach County law-enforcement community in which she had spent a quarter-century working and the local television station whose staff subsequently reported on the crash.
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Garrett was prosecuted as an adult. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of grand theft. On 05/12/2022, a judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison after previously rejecting a proposed 10-year plea agreement as too lenient given the four deaths.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
West Palm Beach GHOST officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling conducted the pursuit, with Detective Pierre Etienne following behind. Subsequent investigative reporting found that GHOST operated as a specialized unit using unmarked vehicles and a separate radio channel but lacked written unit-specific objectives, training manuals and policies.
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Etienne subsequently became involved in the separate 07/30/2024 West Palm Beach pursuit that killed Marcia Pochette and her pregnant daughter Jenice Woods and later resulted in criminal charges against Etienne and other officers. Those allegations concern the later case and are not findings concerning Anderson's death.
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DISPOSITION:
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal pursuit ended at Northlake Boulevard approximately 3½ miles before Anderson was killed. No law-enforcement officer was criminally charged in connection with the 2021 pursuit. Subsequent body-camera evidence raised questions about whether the GHOST officers continued following Garrett farther north after their reported termination point. Garrett received a 15-year prison sentence for four counts of vehicular homicide and grand theft.

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/teen-charged-speeding-crash-killed-4/67-79b998ee-173e-4255-905f-73e6fa879fb0
https://www.wpbf.com/article/deadly-crash-shuts-down-beeline-highway-near-pga-boulevard/37184576
https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/elizabeth-anderson-pbso-employee-killed-in-crash
https://www.pbcpba.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FLC_SUMMER21.pdf
https://www.wlrn.org/wlrn-investigations/2026-01-16/revealed-cops-in-south-florida-elite-ghost-unit-left-a-trail-of-red-flags-before-deadly-chase
https://www.wptv.com/news/crime/christopher-garrett-jr-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-fatal-beeline-highway-crash

.
REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Expired vehicle registration. Amador County sheriff’s deputies had initially been called to Overland Drive after a resident reported a man who had allegedly previously attempted to steal a vehicle from the property and was suspected of casing the residence. The man was gone when deputies arrived. At approximately 7:23 p.m., a female deputy located a vehicle matching the description and attempted a traffic stop specifically because its registration was expired. The driver continued driving away after she activated her emergency lights and siren, and the deputy pursued.
.
EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, an unidentified man was killed when his vehicle left the roadway, struck a utility pole and caught fire during an approximately three-minute Amador County Sheriff’s Office pursuit near Pioneer. Firefighters extinguished the vehicle and resulting vegetation fire and found the driver dead inside.
.
The encounter began when deputies responded to the Overland Drive area in Pioneer following a suspicious-person report. According to the sheriff’s office, a resident reported that a man who had allegedly previously attempted to steal a vehicle from the property had returned and might have been casing the residence. The man had left before deputies arrived, but deputies obtained a detailed description of both him and his vehicle.
.
At approximately 7:23 p.m., a female sheriff’s deputy located a vehicle matching that description. Although the earlier suspicious-person complaint was why deputies were looking for the vehicle, the sheriff’s office stated that the deputy attempted the traffic stop based on the vehicle’s expired registration. She activated her emergency lights and siren. The driver continued driving away and the deputy pursued.
.
The pursuit lasted approximately three minutes. According to the sheriff’s office, the driver crossed the double-yellow center lines into the opposing lane during the pursuit. Police reported that he then appeared to overcorrect, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway.
.
The vehicle struck a utility pole and immediately became engulfed in flames. The burning vehicle ignited surrounding vegetation, creating a secondary fire at the crash scene. Firefighters responded, extinguished the fires and discovered the driver dead inside the vehicle.
.
No PIT/TVI maneuver, spike strips, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact is reported in the available account. The sheriff’s office disclosed the pursuit’s approximate three-minute duration but did not provide a measured maximum speed, the deputy’s speed, the precise distance traveled, the following distance immediately before the crash, or evidence that a supervisor ordered the pursuit terminated.
.
The California Highway Patrol Major Accident Investigation Team took responsibility for investigating the fatal crash rather than leaving the crash reconstruction solely to the Amador County Sheriff’s Office.
.
The deceased man’s identity was initially withheld pending positive identification and notification of his family. The surviving public reporting located for this reconstruction does not establish a subsequently released name, preventing reliable biographical information about his life and family from being included.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The female Amador County sheriff’s deputy who initiated and conducted the approximately three-minute pursuit has not been publicly identified in the available reporting. Sheriff Gary Redman had taken command of the Amador County Sheriff’s Office in April 2021, several months before the fatal pursuit, but he was not identified as participating in the encounter.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article253169293.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/gooddaysacramento/news/man-dies-following-amador-county-sheriff-pursuit/
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/man-dies-following-amador-county-sheriff-pursuit/

.
REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Vehicle believed connected to a reported shooting. At approximately 2:30 a.m., Brooklyn Police Department officers responded to the Tavern on Biddulph at 7104 Biddulph Road after receiving a report of shots fired. Officers found spent shell casings, and witnesses provided a description of a white Nissan believed connected to the gunfire. Officers later located the Nissan near Ridge Road and Associate Avenue and conducted a traffic stop. The driver initially stopped, then drove away at high speed, and Brooklyn police pursued north on Ridge Road toward Cleveland.
.
EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, a 33-year-old woman was killed while riding as a passenger in a white Nissan pursued by Brooklyn Police Department officers from Brooklyn into Cleveland following a shooting investigation. The driver lost control near Denison Avenue and West 73rd Street, and the Nissan overturned. Both the woman and the driver were ejected.
.
The police encounter began approximately 30 minutes earlier at the Tavern on Biddulph, where Brooklyn officers responded to reports of gunfire. Officers recovered shell casings, and witnesses described a white Nissan believed to have been involved. Police later located a Nissan matching that description and stopped it on Ridge Road near Associate Avenue.
.
Police said the 32-year-old driver initially complied with the stop but then drove away at high speed. Brooklyn officers pursued north on Ridge Road toward Cleveland. Public reporting does not provide a measured maximum speed, exact pursuit distance, precise duration, or the number of Brooklyn police vehicles involved.
.
At approximately 3:00 a.m., the Nissan reached the Denison Avenue area. Police said the driver lost control, struck a concrete barrier and overturned near West 73rd Street. Both people inside were ejected from the vehicle.
.
The 33-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers pulled the critically injured driver from the wreckage and extinguished a fire involving the Nissan. Cleveland EMS transported the driver to MetroHealth Medical Center.
.
Brooklyn police subsequently reported recovering a firearm from the wreckage. Police said the firearm's caliber matched the spent shell casings recovered from the Tavern on Biddulph. The weapon was recovered after the fatal crash; the available reporting does not establish that the deceased passenger fired the weapon or participated in the earlier shooting.
.
No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop-stick deployment, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact immediately before the crash was reported. Available public accounts also do not establish whether the pursuit was formally terminated before the Nissan overturned or whether a supervisor ordered or approved continuation of the chase.
.
The Cleveland Division of Police investigated the fatal crash because the collision occurred within Cleveland. Brooklyn Police Department continued investigating the original shots-fired incident. Brooklyn Police Chief Scott Mielke publicly confirmed the basic pursuit chronology.
.
The deceased woman was recorded contemporaneously as a 33-year-old passenger. Fatal Encounters also records the fatality as the female passenger killed during the Brooklyn police pursuit. Her full name was not publicly provided in the available contemporary reporting.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Brooklyn Police Department officers who stopped the Nissan and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified in the available news reports or indexed public records.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/1-person-dies-in-crash-on-denison-avenue-in-cleveland
https://www.cleveland19.com/2021/07/30/one-person-dead-following-police-chase-that-ends-cleveland/
https://fatalencounters.org/view/person-csv/csv/?pagenum=62

On 07/29/2021, George Tratras called 911 and reported that he had killed his parents. Initially cooperating with police, Tratras later fled during an exchange of gunfire. Officers from the Mt. Lebanon Police Department located him near US-19 and McLaughlin Run Road in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, where he was found deceased from a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The incident is under investigation.

https://www.wtae.com/article/3-people-dead-including-suspect-and-2-officers-injured-following-violent-night-in-mount-lebanon/37164092
 

On 07/29/2021, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Mansfield Police Department officers responded to a 911 hang-up call from an apartment at 300 Wood Street in Mansfield, Ohio. Dispatchers also received reports of a disturbance and someone inside the apartment yelling for help. When officers arrived, they found James Haynes outside the apartment holding a knife. Inside the apartment was Jarvon Ginn, who had been stabbed in the chest during the incident.
According to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Officers Clay Blair and Mark Boggs repeatedly ordered Haynes to drop the knife. Haynes instead broke a window and attempted to re-enter the apartment where the stabbing victim remained. Officer Blair deployed a Taser, but it failed to stop Haynes. Officers then fired their weapons outside the apartment. Haynes continued into the residence, where officers forced entry and fired additional rounds after again confronting him while he was still armed with the knife. Haynes was transported to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Jarvon Ginn survived the stabbing.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation. Witnesses interviewed by investigators reported hearing Haynes state, "I'm going to cut his face" and "I'm going to die tonight" before police arrived. BCI also reviewed dash-camera video, forensic evidence, witness interviews, Taser data, medical records, and officer training records. Mansfield officers were not yet equipped with body-worn cameras at the time of the shooting, although patrol car dash cameras captured portions of the incident outside the apartment.
On March 28, 2022, a Richland County grand jury declined to indict either officer, returning a no-bill after reviewing the BCI investigation. I found no evidence that either officer was criminally charged or disciplined, and I found no reported civil lawsuit filed by Haynes' family. The Ohio Attorney General has since released the complete investigative file, including reports, dash-camera video, forensic evidence, witness interviews, personnel records, and the autopsy report.

https://www.richlandsource.com/2022/03/28/grand-jury-finds-justifiable-use-of-deadly-force-in-fatal-july-29-shooting-by-mansfield-police/
https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/getattachment/c113ff22-eab5-4500-8f95-31e36a9d9d71/Prosecutor-Summary.aspx
https://www.yahoo.com/news/grand-jury-rules-mansfield-police-172909247.html
https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/SpecialPages/Documents/James-Haynes/Video-Review-and-Analysis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States%2C_July_2021

On 07/28/2021, Elmore County Sheriff's deputies responded to a residence in Wetumpka after Jonathan Andrew Pears' mother called 911 seeking help for her son, a U.S. Army veteran who was experiencing a severe mental health crisis. Family members reported that Pears had been struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression, and anxiety following multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the family, the purpose of the 911 call was to obtain medical assistance during the crisis rather than to initiate a lethal law enforcement encounter.
Deputies encountered Pears outside the residence holding a large knife. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies repeatedly ordered him to drop the knife before Deputy James McWhorter fired multiple rounds, killing Pears. The shooting occurred within minutes of deputies arriving at the home.
In the months following the shooting, Pears' family publicly challenged the official account and filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit alleging excessive force. The lawsuit contends that Pears was experiencing a psychiatric emergency, was largely stationary in his own front yard, and could have been contained while additional crisis resources or less-lethal options were used. The complaint argues that deputies escalated the encounter instead of employing de-escalation techniques despite recognizing that they had been called to assist a person in mental distress.
Court filings state that Pears had served multiple combat tours with the U.S. Army and had returned home with significant service-connected psychological injuries. His family said he had sought treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs and argued that his military service and mental health history should have prompted a crisis-intervention response rather than an immediate resort to deadly force.
The lawsuit also alleges deficiencies in deputy training involving encounters with individuals experiencing behavioral health crises and questions whether adequate time, distance, communication, or specialized resources were utilized before deadly force was employed. The family has stated that, beyond seeking accountability for Pears' death, they hope the case leads to changes in how law enforcement agencies respond to veterans and others experiencing mental health emergencies.
Federal court records show the civil rights and wrongful death litigation continued for several years. The court dismissed some claims while allowing others to proceed before the parties ultimately reached a confidential settlement in 2024. The settlement resolved the civil case without a judicial determination regarding the legality of the shooting. I found no evidence that Deputy James McWhorter was criminally charged.

https://apnews.com/article/health-police-shootings-lawsuits-veterans-21738eba672a50ab11b6cda27fccef15
https://www.wsfa.com/2021/08/09/family-plans-lawsuit-after-son-killed-by-elmore-county-deputy/
https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/mar/30/family-seeks-answers-changes-after-veteran-killed-by-deputy/
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/alabama/almdce/2%3A2021cv00668/76498/99/
https://www.alabamanews.net/2021/07/28/officer-involved-shooting-in-elmore-county-leaves-one-man-dead/

https://www.wsfa.com/2022/03/30/family-seeks-answers-changes-after-veteran-killed-by-deputy/

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/31/family-seeks-answers-changes-after-veteran-killed-deputy.html

REASON FOR CHASE: Bernice police pursued Brazzel after attempting a traffic stop for an undisclosed traffic violation.
.
NARRATIVE:
On 07/28/2021, 20-year-old Tyler Dewayne Brazzel of Bernice was killed when his 2000 Dodge Ram crashed during a Bernice Police Department pursuit in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.
.
Shortly before 9:00 p.m., Bernice police attempted to stop Brazzel for a traffic violation. Brazzel continued south on U.S. Highway 167 at high speed while police pursued him.
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Brazzel turned onto Forsythe Road east of U.S. 167 and lost control of the Dodge Ram. The truck overturned and Brazzel, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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A passenger riding in the Dodge Ram was properly restrained and survived without reported injuries. Louisiana State Police Troop F investigated the fatal crash. Toxicology samples were collected after investigators reported suspected impairment.
.
Brazzel's funeral was held on 07/31/2021 at Fellowship Baptist Church in Dubach, followed by burial at Corinth Cemetery. Earlier family records identify his parents as Joe and Loretta Brazzel and show that Tyler had grown up in the Dubach area.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Bernice Police Department officer who initiated and participated in the pursuit was not publicly identified in the reporting located.

https://lincolnparishjournal.com/2021/07/30/fleeing-driver-dies-in-lincoln-parish-crash-impairment-suspected/
https://www.knoe.com/2021/07/29/lsp-fleeing-driver-dies-lincoln-parish-crash-impairment-suspected/
https://www.wbrz.com/news/state-police-fleeing-driver-killed-in-lincoln-parish-crash-impairment-suspected
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/tyler-brazzel-memorial?id=6197613

.
REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle and gunfire directed at police. At approximately 8:30 p.m., Keizer Police Department officers responded to a report of a suspicious Nissan Xterra parked behind VCA Keizer Veterinary Hospital at 4815 River Road North. Officers confirmed that the Xterra had been reported stolen earlier that day and saw a man later identified as Sean K. Beck with a handgun on his hip. According to prosecutors, Beck entered the driver's seat, police repeatedly ordered him to surrender, and Beck opened fire toward officers. Five Keizer officers returned fire, striking Beck multiple times. Beck then drove south on River Road while Keizer police pursued with emergency lights and sirens.
.
EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/28/2021, 64-year-old Becky Dietzel of Salem was killed while walking across River Road North at Cummings Lane in Keizer when a stolen Nissan Xterra driven by Sean K. Beck struck and ran over her during a Keizer Police Department pursuit. Dietzel had no connection to Beck, the stolen vehicle, the police shooting or the pursuit.
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The encounter began after a woman reported that her Nissan Xterra and three firearms—a Glock pistol, an AR-15 and a .338 Lapua Magnum rifle—had been stolen. Later that evening, another person reported seeing the stolen Xterra behind the VCA Keizer Veterinary Hospital and a man standing near it with a handgun on his hip. Keizer police responded and contacted two men near the vehicle.
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Police identified the armed man as Beck. According to the Marion County District Attorney's Office, officers repeatedly ordered Beck to surrender. Police alleged that Beck then opened fire toward them, and officers returned fire. The second man remained at the scene and cooperated with police. Beck, despite suffering multiple gunshot wounds, drove the stolen Xterra out of the parking area and south on River Road. Keizer officers pursued him with lights and sirens.
.
Witness Rachel Washburn described hearing successive bursts of gunfire and then seeing the fleeing vehicle pass her home with a police officer immediately behind it. The pursuit continued south on River Road toward the intersection with Cummings Lane.
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Dietzel was walking across River Road in the marked crossing area at Cummings Lane. Witness Kenny Blount reported that the traffic signal was red for through traffic as Dietzel crossed. According to prosecutors, Beck entered the intersection at a high rate of speed against the red light and struck and ran over Dietzel.
.
Blount stopped and retrieved a military first-aid kit after seeing Dietzel struck. He reached her within moments but found her unresponsive. Dietzel was pronounced dead at the scene.
.
Beck continued south without stopping. Keizer police continued pursuing him into Salem, where Salem Police Department officers joined the response. The pursuit traveled onto Northeast Cherry Avenue toward the Home Depot near Salem Parkway.
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Salem Police Corporal Matthew Groat used a PIT maneuver to force Beck's Xterra to stop near the Home Depot on Cherry Avenue. The encounter then developed into an approximately 20-minute standoff. Police fired another shot during the confrontation before Beck ultimately surrendered. He was transported to Salem Hospital for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds.
.
The publicly released accounts describe Beck traveling at a high rate of speed when he killed Dietzel but do not provide a measured pursuit speed or complete pursuit-speed reconstruction. No stop sticks were reported. The documented police vehicle-intervention tactic was Groat's PIT maneuver, which occurred later in Salem after Dietzel had already been killed.
.
Dash-camera recordings subsequently released by the Marion County District Attorney's Office documented the initial gunfire, police pursuit and later police actions. The recordings were released publicly in connection with Beck's criminal case.
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Dietzel was born on 08/15/1956 and was 64 years old when she died. Her death resonated locally beyond the initial crime reporting: community members held a candlelight vigil in her memory on 08/02/2021. Keizer Police Chief John Teague publicly described Dietzel's death as the greatest tragedy of the entire incident.
.
The Oregon State Police led the investigation under Oregon's officer-use-of-deadly-force protocol. The investigation identified six Keizer officers connected to the incident: Sgt. Kevin DeMarco and Officers Scott Keniston, Michael Kowash, Jeremy Darst, Chad Fahey and Cody Stupfel. Five—DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst and Fahey—were subsequently identified as officers whose use of deadly force was reviewed by a Marion County grand jury.
.
OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Sgt. Kevin DeMarco and Officers Scott Keniston, Michael Kowash, Jeremy Darst, Chad Fahey and Cody Stupfel were identified by Oregon State Police as the Keizer officers placed on administrative leave following the encounter. A Marion County grand jury subsequently reviewed the gunfire by DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst and Fahey and unanimously found their use of deadly force against Beck justified. Stupfel was identified as an involved officer but was not among the five officers named in the grand jury's deadly-force clearance.
.
Salem Police Corporal Matthew Groat joined the pursuit after it entered Salem and performed the PIT maneuver that stopped Beck's Xterra near Home Depot.
.
DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst, Fahey and Stupfel were later awarded the Keizer Police Department Medal of Valor for their actions during the 07/28/2021 encounter.
.
DISPOSITION:
A Marion County grand jury unanimously found that DeMarco, Keniston, Kowash, Darst and Fahey were justified in using deadly force against Beck. No officer was criminally charged in connection with the encounter or Dietzel's death.
.
Beck ultimately pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for killing Dietzel, five counts of unlawful use of a weapon, three counts of felon in possession of a firearm and driving under the influence. On 07/20/2023, Marion County Circuit Court Judge Channing Bennett sentenced Beck to 205 months—17 years and one month—in prison, followed by 17 years of post-prison supervision. The court ordered more than $23,000 in restitution to Dietzel's family and permanently revoked Beck's driver's license. Other charges, including attempted aggravated murder, fleeing police and unauthorized use of a vehicle, were dismissed under the plea agreement.
.
A hospital blood draw following Beck's arrest measured his blood-alcohol concentration at .35. Investigators recovered the three stolen firearms from the Xterra. Those facts were established after the pursuit and were not the initiating reason police pursued him; the pursuit began after the encounter with the stolen vehicle and the alleged exchange of gunfire with police.
.

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/police-investigation-forces-hours-long-closure-of-salem-street/283-151d14f5-dba0-49d9-b834-152535e82ff6
https://www.keizertimes.com/2021/07/31/man-charged-for-rampage-through-keizer-pedestrian-killed-is-identified/
https://www.salemreporter.com/2021/07/31/man-charged-for-rampage-through-keizer-pedestrian-killed-is-identified/
https://www.keizertimes.com/2021/07/29/update-keizer-police-officers-involved-in-shooting/
https://www.salemreporter.com/?p=17532
https://flashalert.net/id/MCDA/147500
https://www.keizertimes.com/2021/08/09/5-keizer-officers-cleared-in-shooting-suspect-sean-beck-indicted/
https://flashalert.net/id/MCDA/165170
https://www.keizertimes.com/2023/07/21/silverton-man-sentenced-to-17-years-for-keizer-rampage-that-killed-pedestrian/
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn00063621/2021-08-06/ed-1/seq-2/ocr/
https://www.keizertimes.com/2023/11/22/six-honored-for-valor/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAKKDsG7Kks

On 07/27/2021, Chickasha Police officers responded to a 911 call after family members reported that Lisa Hight was experiencing a suicidal mental health crisis and was armed with a handgun. Officers encountered Hight outside the residence before she retreated into the home. According to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), Hight fired multiple shots from inside the residence during the standoff. At one point, officers reported that she raised the firearm toward them, and at least one officer fired. A short time later, officers heard another gunshot from inside the home. When officers entered the residence, they found Hight deceased.
The OSBI conducted the independent investigation. The Oklahoma medical examiner was responsible for determining the official cause and manner of death. Publicly available records do not indicate that the officers' identities were released, consistent with Oklahoma's practice of withholding officer names unless criminal charges are filed. No public announcement of criminal charges against any officer was located.
The publicly available record contains little additional information about Hight herself or the circumstances that led to the crisis beyond the initial emergency call. No public statements from family members advocating for policy changes, no reported wrongful death litigation, and no detailed prosecutorial findings explaining the resolution of the investigation were located. As a result, many questions about the police response, including the availability of crisis intervention or de-escalation measures before deadly force was used, remain unanswered in the public record.
.

https://www.news9.com/story/6100b0a34694250be440396c/osbi%3A-armed-woman-dies-after-police-standoff-in-chickasha
https://kfor.com/news/local/oklahoma-man-identifies-woman-killed-in-chickasha-officer-involved-shooting/

On 07/27/2021, Dolton Police officers responded to a 911 call from employees at Baba's Famous Steak & Lemonade reporting a disturbance involving a woman in the drive-through who was knocking on the drive-through window with a long object (not a gun). Officers encountered Alexis C. Wilson, 19, seated in the driver's seat of a vehicle with another occupant. The passenger exited the vehicle after police arrived, but Wilson remained inside. Officers attempted to remove her from the driver's seat, and moments later officers fired multiple shots into the vehicle. Wilson drove a short distance before crashing into a nearby building, where she was pronounced dead.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office reviewed the shooting and declined to bring criminal charges against the officers. In 2022, Wilson's family filed a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit alleging that officers used excessive force and that important information about the shooting was withheld from them for days following her death. The lawsuit identified the officers involved as Ryan Perez and Jared Carlton and alleged failures in training, supervision, and the use of force by the Village of Dolton. The federal court allowed significant claims against the Village to proceed, including allegations concerning police training and supervision.
After body-camera and surveillance video were released, Wilson's family continued to publicly question whether deadly force was necessary and maintained that the evidence supported their excessive force claims. The shooting prompted protests and public calls for accountability from Wilson's relatives and supporters, who argued that the circumstances surrounding her death had not been transparently disclosed.
In 2026, the Village of Dolton approved a $900,000 settlement to resolve the federal lawsuit filed by Wilson's estate. The settlement resolved the civil case without an admission of liability by the Village.

https://www.suntimes.com/2021/7/27/22595841/dolton-police-shooting-babas-sibley-alexis-wilson
https://abc7chicago.com/post/dolton-police-shooting-alexis-wilson-bodycam-video-surveillance/12047459/
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/family-of-woman-killed-by-dolton-police-files-lawsuit-they-hid-the-truth-for-days
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/3/18/22984377/family-teen-killed-dolton-police-sue-over-withholding-documents-on-officers-involved
https://abc7chicago.com/dolton-police-shooting-alexis-wilson-illinois-il/10915556/

On 07/27/2021, Justin Damon Roberts was shot and killed by law enforcement in Cottonwood, Alabama. Police responded to a domestic dispute call at a residence on Cottonwood Road where shots were reportedly fired. A woman inside the home was able to leave and reach safety. Houston County Sheriff’s deputies and Cottonwood police made contact with Roberts, who was armed with a firearm. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. When Roberts refused and remained armed, deputies fired their weapons, striking him. He was transported to a hospital by Cottonwood Rescue but died from his injuries. No additional details about charges or further investigation were reported in the initial coverage.

https://www.wtvy.com/2021/07/27/officer-involved-shooting-leaves-one-dead-houston-county/
https://dothaneagle.com/news/local/man-dead-after-police-standoff-in-cottonwood-state-investigating/article_391fd400-efe6-11eb-80ff-b7ce397e245e.html

On 07/27/2021, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force attempted to arrest Robert P. Uhler at a residence on Eagles View Lane in Westfield, Pennsylvania, where authorities believed he was hiding. Uhler had been wanted on an outstanding warrant after failing to appear for sentencing in a criminal case of child sexual abuse and remaining a fugitive for approximately one year.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service and Pennsylvania State Police, Uhler was located inside the residence and a confrontation occurred during the attempted arrest. Authorities reported that Uhler produced a handgun, and members of the task force fired their weapons. Uhler was pronounced dead at the scene. The Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation into the shooting. Publicly available records do not identify the deputy U.S. marshals who fired or provide a detailed public accounting of the encounter beyond the agencies' initial statements.
The warrant stemmed from an earlier criminal prosecution in Lebanon County. Publicly available records do not indicate that any deputy marshal was criminally charged or publicly disciplined in connection with the shooting, and no publicly reported wrongful death litigation arising from the incident was located.

https://lebtown.com/2021/07/30/lebanon-fugitive-on-the-run-since-2020-shot-and-killed-by-u-s-marshal-in-tioga-county/

On 07/27/2021, Nevada Highway Patrol attempted to stop a vehicle that had been reported stolen during an armed carjacking in Las Vegas approximately 30 minutes earlier. According to investigators, the vehicle's owner told police that a man threatened him with a kitchen knife, took the vehicle, and drove away. When the driver continued driving away after troopers attempted a traffic stop, officers initiated a pursuit through the Las Vegas area and onto Interstate 15.
During the pursuit, Trooper Micah May attempted to deploy spike strips on Interstate 15. Claiborne's vehicle struck May, leaving the trooper trapped in or on the vehicle as it continued traveling down the interstate. Officers stopped the vehicle a short distance later. According to investigators, officers believed Claiborne was reaching toward the trapped trooper and attempting to gain control of the trooper's duty weapon. Four officers opened fire, killing Claiborne at the scene. The Clark County Coroner determined that he died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso and ruled the death a homicide.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department conducted the investigation into the shooting. Investigators reported that officers fired 26 rounds, 18 of which struck Claiborne. The investigation concluded that none of the rounds struck Trooper May.
In 2022, Clark County held a public Police Fatality Fact-Finding Review, and the Clark County District Attorney released a detailed legal analysis of the shooting. Prosecutors concluded that the officers' use of deadly force was legally justified under Nevada law and declined to file criminal charges against Trooper Joseph DellaBella or Nevada Division of Parole and Probation Officers Garrett Dix, Derek Simmons, and Luis Villanueva.
Publicly available records do not indicate that Claiborne's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit or that any of the officers were publicly disciplined. Trooper Micah May died from his injuries two days later, on 07/29/2021.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/coroner-ids-suspect-shot-and-killed-in-i-15-pursuit-that-critically-injured-trooper
https://news3lv.com/news/local/coroner-ids-suspect-shot-and-killed-in-i-15-pursuit-that-critically-injured-trooper
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/traffic/trooper-struck-during-car-chase-suspect-dead-after-shooting-2407904

On 07/27/2021, the Teton County Sheriff’s Office identified a man who led deputies on a vehicle chase beginning around 11:20 a.m., after he allegedly threatened someone. Deputies located his vehicle on State Highway 33 west of Tetonia around 4:00 p.m. He refused a traffic stop and the pursuit ensued. The chase ended at approximately 5000 West & 4000 North outside Tetonia, where the driver exited the vehicle and died by a self-inflicted gunshot.

https://www.eastidahonews.com/2021/07/suspect-commits-suicide-after-leading-authorities-on-vehicle-chase/

On 07/27/2021, Vacaville Police officers attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Mario Territo III. Publicly available records do not explain why officers initially attempted the traffic stop. When Territo continued driving away, officers pursued him eastbound on Interstate 80 into Fairfield.
The pursuit ended near Cordelia Junction after officers used a pursuit intervention technique to stop the vehicle. When officers approached, they found Territo inside suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A handgun was recovered from the vehicle. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Solano County Coroner later ruled the death a suicide.
The Solano County Major Crimes Task Force conducted the investigation into the incident. Publicly available records do not indicate that any officers fired their weapons during the encounter or that any officers were injured.

https://solanonews.substack.com/p/breaking-1-dead-at-end-of-police
https://solanonews.substack.com/p/exclusive-man-who-fatally-shot-self-a35
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/vacaville-police-chase-driver-kills-self-alamo-dr/

Officer Cecil Morrison responded to a report of domestic violence at an apartment on Third Street. Upon arrival, he approached Michael Whitmer's vehicle with his firearm drawn. Inside the vehicle was Whitmer’s 4-year-old son, seated in the back seat. Whitmer attempted to reverse the vehicle out of the driveway multiple times, during which his car collided with an unoccupied police cruiser. As Whitmer reversed again, Officer Morrison fired multiple shots into the vehicle, fatally wounding Whitmer. Reports indicate that Whitmer had been unarmed at the time of the shooting.
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Following the incident, Officer Morrison was charged with negligent homicide, a misdemeanor offense. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was ordered to permanently surrender his Ohio Peace Officer Training Certificate, effectively ending his law enforcement career in the state. Notably, after the shooting and before his plea, Morrison was hired by the Nelsonville Police Department; however, his law enforcement certification surrender precludes future employment as an officer in Ohio.
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In addition to the criminal proceedings, Morrison faces a civil lawsuit filed by Whitmer's family, alleging violations of Whitmer’s constitutional rights.

https://athensindependent.com/ex-police-officer-who-shot-and-killed-nelsonville-resident-faces-civil-lawsuit/

On July 27, 2021, officers from the Riverside Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting a home invasion on the 2500 block of Rondowa Avenue in Riverside, Ohio. The caller stated that a man, later identified as 39-year-old Kevlin Wallace, had broken into the residence and was holding her boyfriend, daughter, and the child’s grandfather hostage at gunpoint.
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An officer confronted Wallace and engaged him in a shootout. Wallace left the home, prompting a search of the area. Police heard a gunshot as they approached Wallace’s location and found him with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/crews-called-for-dayton-shooting-victim/WVTTL5256FDYRHPRWK2CZTXUAU/
https://www.whio.com/news/local/heavy-police-presence-reported-outside-riverside-house/M6IFKPWZBND75P2LRH54UC7EHU/
https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/riverside-police-officers-request-aid-cancel-10-minutes-later/
https://www.wdtn.com/news/local-news/riverside-police-to-discuss-suspect-who-shot-himself-after-shootout-with-officers/
https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/riverside-police-to-address-reported-burglary-that-ended-with-1-dead-from-apparent-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound/OYT5KRIFQBFPHP7X56VECR2MX4/

On July 27, 2021, Losardo Lucas, 55, was wanted for multiple warrants, including charges of murder and attempted murder. U.S. Marshals entered a business in a strip mall where Lucas was located. Upon encountering the officers, Lucas allegedly pointed a pistol at officers more than once. In response, two officers opened fire, fatally shooting Lucas.

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/officials-identify-wanted-man-killed-by-law-enforcement/article_8babcbb7-3e3c-534a-a9d9-7d7354f87fae.html

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. At approximately 11:00 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the area of Shelby Street near Garfield Park after receiving a report concerning a stolen vehicle. Officers encountered a man driving a stolen pickup truck and attempted to stop him. The driver accelerated away, and IMPD officers pursued him south through Indianapolis.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/26/2021, an unidentified man was killed when the stolen pickup truck he was driving crashed during a brief Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department pursuit on the city's south side. The pickup rolled several times down an embankment and landed on the driver in the 4500 block of Madison Avenue near Interstate 465.
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The encounter began at approximately 11:00 p.m. when IMPD received a report of a stolen vehicle near Garfield Park. Officers located the stolen pickup on Shelby Street and attempted to stop the driver. According to police, the man accelerated instead of stopping, and officers initiated a pursuit.
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The pursuit was brief, lasting only a few minutes. Police reported that speeds reached approximately 60 mph as the pickup continued south.
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As the pickup approached the Madison Avenue area, investigators believed the driver may have struck a median and lost control. The pickup left the roadway and rolled multiple times down an embankment in the 4500 block of Madison Avenue near Interstate 465.
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The driver was ejected during the rollover. The pickup then landed on top of him, trapping him beneath the vehicle. Emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene. No other people were reported injured in the crash.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop-stick deployment, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact was reported before the crash. The available accounts establish an approximate maximum pursuit speed of 60 mph and a duration of several minutes but do not provide the precise pursuit distance, the pursuing officer's speed, the distance between the police vehicle and pickup immediately before the crash, or evidence that officers attempted to terminate the pursuit before the collision.
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IMPD announced that its internal investigators would review the pursuit to determine whether the officer's decision to initiate and continue the chase complied with department pursuit policy.
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The driver was identified in contemporary reporting only as an adult male. His name, age and other biographical information were not publicly provided in the reports following the fatal pursuit.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer or officers who attempted to stop the stolen pickup and participated in the pursuit were not publicly identified in the available reporting.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/indiana/articles/2021-07-27/man-dies-in-crash-during-brief-indianapolis-police-pursuit
https://www.wrtv.com/news/local-news/crime/1-dead-in-crash-involving-vehicle-pursuit-on-citys-south-side
https://www.dailyherald.com/20210727/news/man-dies-in-crash-during-brief-indianapolis-police-pursuit/

On 07/26/2021, Van Buren County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of a domestic assault at a residence near North State Street and Bush Street in Gobles. Deputies initially searched the home but were unable to locate Jacob Bender. After obtaining a search warrant, they returned later that evening. Bender's wife told deputies he was hiding in a crawl space beneath the home.
A sheriff's K-9 was deployed to locate Bender inside the confined crawl space. According to investigators, Bender stabbed the dog multiple times after it entered the space. Deputies attempted to subdue him with a Taser, but the confrontation continued. Deputy Chad Newell then fired his weapon, fatally wounding Bender. The police dog survived after emergency veterinary treatment.
The Michigan State Police conducted the investigation into the shooting and submitted its findings to the Van Buren County Prosecutor. In December 2021, Prosecutor Michael A. Bedford announced that Deputy Chad Newell's use of deadly force was legally justified under Michigan law and that no criminal charges would be filed. The prosecutor concluded that the deputy reasonably believed deadly force was necessary under the circumstances described by investigators.
Bender's family disputed the official account and questioned whether deadly force was necessary after he had already been located in the crawl space. Relatives told reporters that Bender had struggled with substance use and mental health issues and said they believed the encounter could have ended differently. Neighbors also reported that deputies had been called to the residence numerous times during the previous year for domestic disturbances, illustrating a long history of law enforcement involvement before the fatal encounter.

https://wwmt.com/news/local/police-at-house-in-gobles
https://www.woodtv.com/news/van-buren-county/man-who-stabbed-k-9-dog-shot-killed-by-deputy-in-van-buren-co/
https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/officer-fatally-shoots-suspect-who-allegedly-stabbed-k-9/69-514332ff-7f9c-4e59-919d-da46751449e8
https://wwmt.com/news/local/deputies-called-to-gobles-home-19-times-in-past-year-where-man-was-shot-and-killed
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/sheriffs-deputy-fatally-shoots-man-after-police-dog-stabbed-in-van-buren-county/
https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/south-mi/van-buren/suspect-shot-and-killed-after-stabbing-k-9-officer-in-van-buren-county
https://apnews.com/article/police-dogs-c361d9cd0862cf5b7a35ece8fc4b9cfa
https://www.police1.com/k-9/articles/man-repeatedly-stabs-k-9-is-fatally-shot-officials-say-S7mLBD9bZ4K548Ai/
https://www.abc57.com/news/deputies-kill-suspect-who-stabbed-k-9-attempted-to-stab-officers
https://pjmedia.com/kevindowneyjr/2021/07/29/k9-officer-stabbed-3-times-survives-his-attacker-was-not-so-lucky-n1465522
https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/south-mi/van-buren/not-surprised-family-speaks-out-after-39-year-old-man-was-shot-killed-by-deputy
 

On 07/26/2021, Hermenegildo Gonzalez Jr. was shot and killed by an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department in Los Angeles, California. Officers responded to a report of someone screaming in distress at a residence on Barry Avenue. Upon arrival, officers observed Gonzalez inside an apartment holding a large knife and restraining an elderly woman by placing his arm and the knife at her neck. Officers ordered Gonzalez to drop the knife. When he refused and continued to hold the woman, an officer fired a single shot, striking Gonzalez. He died at the scene. Investigators later determined that the officer acted in defense of another based on the totality of the circumstances. The woman was not injured.

https://da.lacounty.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/JSID-OIS-10-16-24-Gonzalez-Jr.pdf
https://patch.com/california/beverlyhills/cops-kill-man-holding-woman-knifepoint-west-la-lapd
https://homicide.latimes.com/post/hermenegildo-gonzalez-jr/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-26/police-shoot-and-kill-man-in-west-l-a

On 07/26/2021, Barnstable Police officers responded to reports of gunfire at a residence on Captain Baker Road in Marstons Mills. According to authorities, the man inside the home was armed and had discharged a firearm. Officers established a perimeter around the residence, closed nearby roads, evacuated neighboring homes, and requested assistance from the Barnstable County Regional SWAT Team and crisis negotiators.
The standoff continued for several hours as officers attempted to resolve the situation. According to the Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office, gunfire was exchanged during the confrontation, and officers shot the man. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities later recovered multiple firearms from the residence.
The shooting was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office, the agency responsible for investigating fatal police shootings in the county. Publicly available records do not indicate that the man's identity was ever released, nor do they identify the officers who fired their weapons. Available records also do not include a detailed public accounting of the events immediately preceding the shooting, the results of the investigative findings, or whether any officer was disciplined or criminally charged.

https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2021/07/26/barnstable-police-shooting-marstons-mills/
https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/police-respond-armed-standoff-marstons-mills/
https://www.wcvb.com/article/police-shooting-barnstable-investigation/

On 07/26/2021, San Antonio Police responded to a domestic violence call at a residence in the 3100 block of Roosevelt Avenue after receiving reports that Neida Guadalupe Tijerina and three children were being held inside by an armed man. According to police, the man had threatened to kill Tijerina, their infant child, and himself before barricading everyone inside the home. Officers established a perimeter and attempted to negotiate while the children were eventually able to escape the residence unharmed.
The standoff ended when the armed man emerged from the residence holding a shotgun. Officers opened fire, wounding him. After entering the home, officers found Tijerina dead inside. The following day, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus announced that the physical evidence indicated Tijerina had likely been struck by police gunfire during the exchange rather than being killed by the armed man, calling her death "an extremely tragic event."
The Texas Rangers investigated the shooting. In 2023, Tijerina's mother filed a federal wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit against the City of San Antonio, Police Chief William McManus, and Officers Johnny J. Aguirre, Jose Claire, and Nicholas Rodgers. The lawsuit alleges that the officers' use of deadly force was unreasonable and that their gunfire killed Tijerina while she was being held hostage. As of the latest publicly available court records, the litigation remains pending.

https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/07/28/sapd-gives-new-information-about-standoff-where-man-shot-by-officers-woman-found-dead/

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Failure to use a turn signal. LMPD Officers Benjamin Sullivan and Joseph Nett were working in an undercover police vehicle when they followed a black Ford Five Hundred driven by Larry Williams. Dash-camera evidence later showed Williams failed to signal before making a right turn from West Oak Street onto Dr. W.J. Hodge Street. The officers attempted to stop Williams for the traffic violation. Williams continued driving away and Sullivan pursued. The initiating offense was a minor traffic violation; Williams was not then known to police to have committed a violent felony, and the Ford was not reported stolen.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/06/2021, 22-year-old Trevon Lanel Mitchell was killed while riding his moped near West Broadway and Dr. W.J. Hodge Street when a Ford driven by Larry Williams entered the intersection at approximately 90 mph during an LMPD pursuit and triggered a violent multi-vehicle collision. Mitchell had no connection to Williams, the traffic stop or the police pursuit.
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Sullivan and his partner, Joseph Nett, were traveling in an undercover LMPD vehicle when they began following Williams. Dash-camera evidence later showed Williams failed to signal before turning right, providing the traffic violation used for the attempted stop. Sullivan activated the police vehicle's emergency equipment, and Williams accelerated away.
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The pursuit accelerated dramatically through Louisville's West End. Court records later showed Sullivan's police vehicle reached approximately 95 mph while following Williams. LMPD subsequently maintained that the officers discontinued their attempt to stop Williams because of his speed, but the extent to which Sullivan actually disengaged became a central issue in subsequent litigation.
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Williams approached the intersection of Dr. W.J. Hodge Street and West Broadway at approximately 90 mph and entered against a red traffic signal. His Ford struck an SUV occupied by Walter Jackson and Brent Bernier, then became involved in a chain-reaction collision with additional vehicles and the moped Mitchell was riding. Several people suffered serious injuries.
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Mitchell suffered catastrophic injuries. He was transported to University of Louisville Hospital, where he died. He was three days short of his 23rd birthday.
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Williams left the wrecked Ford and fled on foot. Police recovered a firearm from his vehicle after the collision. He remained at large for approximately six weeks before being arrested on 08/18/2021 and charged with murder, assault and other offenses arising from the crash. The firearm was discovered after the pursuit began and therefore was not a justification for the original attempted traffic stop.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks or roadblock preceded the fatal collision. The major dispute instead concerned whether Sullivan should have initiated or continued a high-speed pursuit over the turn-signal violation and whether police actually terminated the pursuit when they claimed they did.
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LMPD initially said officers had discontinued their attempt to stop Williams before the crash. Surveillance video complicated that account because the undercover police vehicle arrived immediately after the collision. Subsequent litigation produced evidence that Sullivan reached approximately 95 mph during the encounter.
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The officer's identity was itself initially reported incorrectly. The original LMPD collision report identified Sgt. Timothy Nett as the pursuing officer. During the subsequent litigation, an amended report identified rookie Officer Benjamin Sullivan as the driver of the police vehicle and Officer Joseph Nett as his partner in the passenger seat.
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Trevon was born on 07/09/1998 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. He attended Jeffersonville High School and was attending Ivy Tech Community College when he was killed. He loved animals and skateboarding. His grandmother Danita Mitchell remembered him as someone who smiled constantly and always had a joke to tell, and said he had been preparing to enter military service and was getting his life on track.
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Mitchell's family and other people injured in the collision subsequently sued over the police pursuit, alleging that Sullivan violated LMPD policy by engaging in a high-speed pursuit when Williams was wanted only for a traffic violation. At the time, LMPD policy restricted pursuits to circumstances involving specified serious dangers, including violent felony suspects or stolen vehicles. The plaintiffs argued that none of those conditions existed when Sullivan attempted to stop Williams.
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The case ultimately went to a 10-day civil trial in 2023. A jury awarded Mitchell's estate and other victims approximately $30.7 million and apportioned 97% of the fault to Williams and 3% to Sullivan. In 2024, the trial court ordered a partial new trial limited to apportionment. The Kentucky Court of Appeals subsequently documented that procedural history in a 2025 decision arising from the litigation.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Officer Benjamin Sullivan was driving the undercover LMPD vehicle and Joseph Nett was riding with him during the pursuit. Sullivan was a relatively new officer at the time. The fatal pursuit became the subject of LMPD Public Integrity and Professional Standards investigations as well as extensive civil litigation.
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The subsequent civil case challenged not only Sullivan's decision to pursue Williams but also LMPD's handling and characterization of the incident. Plaintiffs presented evidence disputing the department's contention that the encounter was merely an attempted stop that had been discontinued before the fatal collision.
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DISPOSITION:
Larry Williams was subsequently convicted of manslaughter, fleeing police and other offenses arising from the fatal crash. Mitchell's family and other victims also pursued civil claims against the involved officers.
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A 2023 civil jury found both Williams and Officer Benjamin Sullivan responsible, allocating 97% of the fault to Williams and 3% to Sullivan and awarding approximately $30.7 million in damages. The trial court subsequently granted a partial new trial limited to allocation of fault.

https://www.wave3.com/2021/07/27/lmpd-undercover-officer-involved-deadly-crash/
https://www.wdrb.com/news/lmpd-officer-involved-in-fatal-crash-during-pursuit/article_6f52f7d8-ee9b-11eb-9f2b-9758fbb3b541.html
https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/lmpd-crash-broadway/417-cab5a320-c2c5-44b2-9a88-73ed908e8a63
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2021/07/27/louisville-police-crash-leaves-one-dead-four-injured/5387293001/
https://www.wave3.com/2021/07/07/suspect-deadly-broadway-crash-run-lmpd-investigating/
https://www.wave3.com/2021/08/12/victims-deadly-broadway-crash-sue-lmpd-officer/
https://www.wave3.com/2021/08/18/man-arrested-after-traffic-stop-leads-deadly-crash/
https://www.wlky.com/article/lawsuit-accuses-lmpd-officer-of-not-following-car-pursuit-policy-in-deadly-july-collision/37297132
https://www.wdrb.com/news/louisville-man-charged-with-murder-weeks-after-fatal-crash/article_b0da8fcc-005c-11ec-862e-8bb86293d003.html
https://www.wave3.com/2023/12/05/jury-awards-31-million-lmpd-police-chase-trial/
https://law.justia.com/cases/kentucky/court-of-appeals/2025/2023-ca-1202-mr.html
https://www.scottfuneralhome.com/obituary/Trevon-Mitchell

On 07/26/2021, Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to reports of a man armed with a knife near 1318 South Union Avenue in the Pico-Union neighborhood. Witnesses reported that Samuel Soto had sustained a serious neck wound and was behaving erratically. An off-duty police officer at the scene rendered first aid to Soto before uniformed officers arrived. According to witnesses and investigators, Soto was bleeding heavily, holding a knife, and appeared to be experiencing a mental health crisis.
After officers arrived, they repeatedly ordered Soto to drop the knife. According to the California Department of Justice investigation, Soto walked toward officers while still holding the knife. Officer Eduardo Martinez fired three rounds, striking Soto once in the abdomen. Officers immediately rendered medical aid until paramedics arrived. Soto underwent surgery and remained hospitalized for more than three months before dying from complications of the gunshot wound on 11/02/2021.
Because Soto died from the shooting, the California Department of Justice conducted an independent investigation under Assembly Bill 1506. In February 2024, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that prosecutors found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Officers Eduardo Martinez or David Voci committed a crime, and no criminal charges were filed.
Although the Department of Justice declined prosecution, its report identified several concerns about the encounter and recommended improvements to LAPD policy and training. Investigators recommended expanding guidance on responding to people experiencing mental health crises, improving tactical communication and coordination, clarifying de-escalation practices, and strengthening training on the use of cover and less-lethal options. The report concluded that these recommendations were intended to reduce the likelihood of similar fatal encounters in the future.

https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/ois/report/2024_02_Soto_AB1506_Report.pdf
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/california-department-justice-releases-report-officer-involved-shooting-samuel
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-02-09/no-charges-for-lapd-officers-who-fatally-shot-man-in-pico-union

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Felony warrant and narcotics investigation. The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was attempting to apprehend Kaleb Marshall Brown after investigators received information alleging that he was distributing methamphetamine, was a convicted felon possessing a handgun and had an active Tennessee felony warrant for aggravated assault. The Narcotics Unit requested assistance from the Tunnel Hill Police Department to stop Brown’s vehicle.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/26/2021, 26-year-old Kaleb Marshall Brown of Tunnel Hill was killed when the 2002 Volkswagen Beetle he was driving crashed during a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and Tunnel Hill Police Department pursuit near U.S. Highway 41 and Shugart Road. His passenger, 27-year-old Christy Leigh Lawing of Crandall, was also killed.
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At approximately 3:00 p.m., the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit requested assistance from Tunnel Hill police in stopping Brown. Sheriff Scott Chitwood said narcotics investigators had information alleging that Brown was distributing methamphetamine, possessed a handgun despite being a convicted felon and had an outstanding Tennessee aggravated-assault warrant.
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A Tunnel Hill police officer attempted to stop Brown’s Volkswagen. Brown continued driving away, and the Tunnel Hill officer and a Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy pursued him.
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During the pursuit, the Tunnel Hill police officer intentionally struck Brown’s Volkswagen with a PIT maneuver in an attempt to force the vehicle to stop. Brown regained control of the Volkswagen following the PIT and continued driving while police pursued.
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According to the Georgia State Patrol crash account, Brown subsequently traveled south on Georgia Highway 3/U.S. Highway 41 at a high rate of speed. As he approached Shugart Road, Brown attempted to pass multiple vehicles by driving between the right-turn lane and right travel lane.
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The Volkswagen struck four vehicles while attempting to pass them and then crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer. The impact caused the Volkswagen to rotate counterclockwise and strike the driver-side front quarter panel of one of the vehicles it had previously hit. The Volkswagen came to an uncontrolled stop facing north between the right travel lane and right-turn lane.
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Brown and Lawing were pronounced dead at the scene. The Georgia State Patrol investigated the fatal collision.
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The pursuit therefore involved direct police vehicle intervention before the fatal crash. The Tunnel Hill officer performed a PIT maneuver against Brown’s Volkswagen, but that maneuver did not immediately terminate the pursuit because Brown recovered control and continued driving. The fatal collision occurred later as the Volkswagen approached Highway 41 and Shugart Road.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Tunnel Hill police officer who attempted the traffic stop, pursued Brown and performed the PIT maneuver has not been publicly identified in the available reporting. The Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy who joined the pursuit also has not been publicly identified. Tunnel Hill Police Chief Trey Ryder confirmed that his department was assisting the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office operation but declined to provide further details while the incident remained under investigation.

https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/news/two-killed-in-whitfield-county-crash-after-police-chase/article_3e1dbe6a-ef07-11eb-a261-bf80c249d79a.html
https://www.newschannel9.com/news/local/two-dead-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash-in-whitfield-county
https://www.wdef.com/two-dead-in-whitfield-county-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash/
https://www.wdef.com/two-suspects-dead-chase-whitfield-county/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/updated-tunnel-hill-man-crandall-221700407.html

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Felony warrant and narcotics investigation involving the driver of the vehicle in which Lawing was riding. The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit was attempting to apprehend the driver after receiving information alleging that he was distributing methamphetamine, was a convicted felon possessing a handgun and had an active Tennessee felony warrant for aggravated assault. Narcotics investigators requested assistance from Tunnel Hill police to stop the vehicle. No available account identifies Lawing herself as the subject of the investigation or the reason police initiated the pursuit.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/26/2021, 27-year-old Christy Leigh Lawing of Crandall was killed while riding as a passenger in a Volkswagen Beetle during a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office and Tunnel Hill Police Department pursuit. Lawing was not identified as the target of the narcotics investigation, the outstanding warrant or the attempted police stop.
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At approximately 3:00 p.m., Whitfield County narcotics investigators requested assistance from the Tunnel Hill Police Department in stopping the Volkswagen. A Tunnel Hill officer attempted the stop, but the driver continued driving away. The Tunnel Hill officer and a Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy pursued the vehicle with Lawing still riding as a passenger.
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During the chase, the Tunnel Hill officer used a PIT maneuver against the Volkswagen in an attempt to force it to stop. The driver regained control following the intentional police-vehicle contact and continued driving while officers pursued.
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The pursuit continued south on Georgia Highway 3/U.S. Highway 41. According to the Georgia State Patrol, the Volkswagen was traveling at a high rate of speed as it approached Shugart Road and attempted to pass multiple vehicles between the right-turn lane and right travel lane.
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The Volkswagen struck four vehicles before crashing into the rear of a tractor-trailer. The impact rotated the Volkswagen counterclockwise, and it struck one of the previously hit vehicles again before coming to an uncontrolled stop.
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Lawing and the driver were pronounced dead at the scene. Lawing was 27 and lived in Crandall, Georgia.
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Lawing’s role in the incident was that of a passenger. The publicly released accounts do not allege that she was the person police were seeking, that she had an outstanding warrant, that she possessed a firearm or that she was suspected of distributing narcotics. The police operation and attempted stop were directed at the driver.
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The police pursuit included a PIT maneuver before Lawing was killed. Although the maneuver did not itself immediately crash the Volkswagen, it constituted intentional police-vehicle contact during the same continuous pursuit that subsequently ended in the fatal collision at Highway 41 and Shugart Road.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Tunnel Hill police officer who pursued the Volkswagen and performed the PIT maneuver has not been publicly identified in the available reporting. The Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy who participated in the pursuit also has not been publicly identified.
.

https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/news/two-killed-in-whitfield-county-crash-after-police-chase/article_3e1dbe6a-ef07-11eb-a261-bf80c249d79a.html
https://www.newschannel9.com/news/local/two-dead-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash-in-whitfield-county
https://www.wdef.com/two-dead-in-whitfield-county-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash/
https://www.wdef.com/two-suspects-dead-chase-whitfield-county/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/updated-tunnel-hill-man-crandall-221700407.html

On 07/26/2021, Rankin County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of burglary and vandalism at a residence on Clara Foote Road near Braxton. Deputies encountered 29-year-old Damien Montrell Cameron after he emerged from a wooded area and arrested him following a foot pursuit. According to the sheriff's office, Cameron resisted arrest before being handcuffed and placed in the rear of a patrol vehicle.
Deputies later reported finding Cameron unresponsive while he remained handcuffed inside the patrol vehicle. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into the death.
In the months and years that followed, Cameron's family publicly challenged the sheriff's account of the arrest. His mother released photographs showing extensive injuries to his face and head while he was hospitalized, alleging deputies severely beat him before placing him in the patrol vehicle. The family has repeatedly questioned how long Cameron remained handcuffed inside the cruiser before deputies discovered he was in medical distress and has criticized the sheriff's office for failing to release body-camera footage or provide a detailed public accounting of the arrest.
An independent forensic pathologist retained by Cameron's family concluded that he died from injuries sustained during the arrest and described his death as a homicide. The family has maintained that deputies used excessive force and have called for criminal charges and federal intervention. As of the latest public reporting, neither the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation nor local prosecutors have publicly released investigative findings explaining the death or announced criminal charges against any deputy.
After Cameron's death, the Rankin County Sheriff's Office became the subject of national scrutiny following the exposure of the department's self-described "Goon Squad," whose members were later convicted in federal court for a pattern of violent assaults, torture, and civil rights violations against Black residents. Cameron's family has urged federal authorities to examine whether his death was connected to the same pattern of misconduct. Publicly available records do not indicate that the U.S. Department of Justice has publicly announced a separate federal investigation into Cameron's death.

https://www.wapt.com/article/man-dies-in-custody-of-rankin-deputies-mbi-investigating/37148627
https://www.mississippifreepress.org/rankin-county-deputies-beat-knelt-on-mans-neck-before-he-died-family-alleges/
https://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/family-of-damien-cameron-demand-transparency-nearly-two-years-after-death-in-police-custody/
https://www.jacksonadvocateonline.com/the-evidence-is-in-his-face-says-mother-of-man-who-died-in-sheriffs-custody/
https://www.themississippimonitor.com/he-died-from-injuries-sustained-during-his-2021-arrest-family-wants-rankin-county-deputies-held-accountable/

n 07/25/2021, deputies with the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office went to an apartment on Kathy Meadows Lane in Crowley to arrest a 35-year-old man who was wanted for questioning in a homicide investigation and was also the subject of an outstanding warrant in Acadia Parish.
According to the sheriff's office, gunfire erupted as deputies arrived, and one deputy was wounded. The man remained inside the apartment while deputies established a perimeter and attempted for several hours to communicate with him. After those efforts were unsuccessful, the Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office SWAT team entered the residence and found him dead from gunshot wounds.
The Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations conducted the independent investigation into the shooting. Publicly available records do not indicate that the man or the deputies involved were ever publicly identified, nor do they include detailed investigative findings explaining whether the fatal gunshot wounds were caused by deputies' gunfire or by a self-inflicted wound. No public announcement of criminal charges against any officer or civil litigation arising from the incident was located.

https://www.lobservateur.com/2021/07/27/lsp-investigating-acadia-parish-officer-involved-shooting/
https://www.katc.com/news/acadia-parish/update-full-recovery-expected-for-deputy
https://calcasieu.info/louisiana-state-police-investigating-fatal-officer-involved-shooting-in-crowley/
https://www.facebook.com/LouisianaStatePolice/posts/5092430967440119/

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REASON FOR POLICE ENCOUNTER:
Traffic violation. At approximately 12:30 a.m., Leon County Sheriff's Office deputies stopped a black Infiniti passenger car at West Tennessee Street and White Drive for an unspecified traffic violation. Deputies approached the vehicle and spoke with its driver and passenger.
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OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY:
On 07/25/2021, an unidentified driver of a Chevrolet passenger car was killed when a black Infiniti that had fled a Leon County Sheriff's Office traffic stop crashed into the Chevrolet at West Tennessee Street and Blountstown Highway in Tallahassee. The Chevrolet driver was an uninvolved motorist with no connection to the preceding police encounter.
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The encounter began approximately a mile east of the eventual crash, at West Tennessee Street and White Drive. Deputies stopped the Infiniti for a traffic violation and made contact with its driver and passenger. After a brief interaction, the Infiniti suddenly accelerated westbound on West Tennessee Street.
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As the Infiniti drove away, it ran over a deputy's foot and dragged the deputy a short distance.
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A few moments later, authorities received a report of a two-vehicle collision approximately a mile away at West Tennessee Street and Blountstown Highway. Deputies responding to the collision recognized the Infiniti as the same vehicle that had fled the traffic stop.
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The Infiniti had crashed into a Chevrolet passenger car and also damaged several vehicles at a nearby automobile dealership. The Chevrolet's driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The Infiniti's driver and passenger were transported to a hospital. The passenger subsequently died from injuries sustained in the crash. The driver survived the initial collision and remained hospitalized when LCSO released its preliminary account.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
The uninvolved Chevrolet driver and the Infiniti passenger were killed. The Infiniti driver was injured, and a Leon County sheriff's deputy suffered a foot injury when the Infiniti drove away from the traffic stop.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Leon County Sheriff's Office deputies involved in the traffic stop have not been publicly identified in the sources located.
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https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/local/2021/07/25/leon-lcso-pursuit-tallahassee-killed-crash-west-tennessee/8086212002/
https://www.wctv.tv/2021/07/25/2-dead-following-car-crash-tallahassee/
https://www.leoncountyso.com/portals/0/docs/news-releases/lcso-investigating-fatal-traffic-crash9b4a3f4a2c174e99b07cca01de15336e.pdf
https://news.wfsu.org/wfsu-local-news/2021-07-26/two-people-dead-following-traffic-stop-in-tallahassee
https://www.wtxl.com/news/local-news/2-dead-2-injured-including-lcso-deputy-in-crash-after-traffic-stop
https://tallahasseereports.com/2021/07/25/lcso-investigating-traffic-crash-that-claims-two-lives/

On 07/25/2021, officers with the Cortland Police Department and the Cortland County Sheriff's Office attempted to stop a motorcycle after observing traffic violations, including speeding and an inadequate muffler. When the rider continued traveling, officers initiated a pursuit through the City of Cortland. According to later records, the pursuit involved high speeds, with both the motorcycle and pursuing patrol vehicles maneuvering around other traffic.
The pursuit ended near the Port Watson Street bridge when Casey J. Stockton lost control of his motorcycle and crashed. He was pronounced dead at the scene. New York State Police investigated the fatal crash.
Records later obtained by the Times Union reported that the lead pursuing officer had reached for the radio to terminate the pursuit just before encountering Stockton's body in the roadway.
Publicly available records do not indicate that the pursuing officers were publicly identified, that the incident resulted in disciplinary action or criminal charges against officers, or that Stockton's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

https://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/2021/07/26/casey-stockton-killed-during-late-night-police-chase-cortland/8090830002/