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Jamaal "Smurfee" Parish Mitchell

Age : 35

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 10/21/2021

Location : Queen Avenue and Duchess Drive

City : Wicomico

County : Wicomico

State : Maryland

Agency : Salisbury Police Department; Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Pfc. Christopher Denny; Deputy David Munir

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON WHY PURSUIT WAS INITIATED:
At approximately 9:59 p.m., Salisbury Police Pfc. Christopher Denny was leaving the police department when he saw a black Honda Accord driven by Jamaal Parish Mitchell at Delaware Avenue and West Salisbury Parkway with its headlights off. Denny followed the Honda and activated his emergency lights. Police alleged Mitchell began increasing his speed and swerving across lane lines, and Denny told his supervisor he believed Mitchell might be impaired. Sgt. Chad Crockett authorized Denny to continue the pursuit.
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OFFICIAL NARRATIVE:
On 10/21/2021, Salisbury Police Pfc. Christopher Denny pursued 35-year-old Jamaal “Smurfee” Parish Mitchell westbound on Route 50. Mitchell had spent the evening at his aunt’s birthday celebration at the Salisbury VFW and, according to his family, was taking his normal route home when Denny encountered him. Investigators found no evidence that Denny knew Mitchell or had been looking for him before seeing his Honda at the intersection.
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The pursuit lasted approximately two minutes on Route 50. Denny’s patrol vehicle reached approximately 72 mph. During radio transmissions, Denny initially reported Mitchell traveling approximately 50 mph, then 65 mph, with no traffic. Denny reported the Honda swerving and straddling lanes, and Crockett authorized continued pursuit based on the possibility that Mitchell was impaired.
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Mitchell turned from Route 50 onto Queen Avenue and struck the rear corner of a Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office SUV driven by Deputy David Munir, who had positioned himself at the intersection to assist Denny. Munir then joined the pursuit, with Denny following behind. The Attorney General’s investigation found no evidence that Munir obtained the supervisor approval normally required under Wicomico County pursuit policy before joining another agency’s pursuit.
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Only approximately 18 seconds elapsed between Mitchell turning onto Queen Avenue and the fatal crash. Mitchell traveled approximately one-quarter mile down Queen Avenue, crossed into the opposing lane and struck an Acura whose driver was turning left onto Duchess Drive. The Honda then crossed the yard at 1501 Duchess Drive, struck a parked vehicle and crashed into a tree. A deputy later observed that the Honda’s speedometer was frozen between 70 and 80 mph, although crash investigators could not reliably determine Mitchell’s actual impact speed because the Honda had sustained multiple collisions.
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Denny and Munir arrived seconds later and found Mitchell trapped and unresponsive. Officers attempted to open the severely damaged Honda while requesting EMS. A deputy initially detected a faint pulse, but Mitchell had suffered catastrophic head, brain and spinal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner ruled the death accidental. Toxicology later found a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.25 percent and no other drugs in the urine sample.
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Mitchell was a 35-year-old Salisbury resident who was known as “Smurfee.” On the night he died, he was not coming from a reported crime scene or other police encounter; his family told investigators he had been celebrating his aunt’s birthday at the local VFW and was simply traveling his customary route home when Denny noticed his headlights were off.
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DISPOSITION:
The Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division conducted an extensive investigation using dashboard and body-camera video, radio traffic, crash reconstruction, medical-examiner findings, witness interviews, departmental records and the officers’ pursuit histories. The investigation was completed in February 2022 and forwarded to Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes. On 04/21/2022, the State’s Attorney declined prosecution. Neither Denny nor Munir was criminally charged for his role in the pursuit.
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The IID concluded that Denny’s pursuit complied with Salisbury Police policy because that policy permitted pursuit of a potentially intoxicated driver and his supervisor authorized continuation. Investigators noted that Munir did not obtain supervisor approval before joining the pursuit, but concluded that because Mitchell had struck Munir’s cruiser, Munir had an independent basis to initiate a pursuit and that the possible policy violation did not amount to criminal gross negligence.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Pfc. Christopher Denny initiated and led the pursuit. The Attorney General’s review of his personnel records found no internal-affairs complaints and no previous pursuits in which he had been directly engaged; he had previously participated only in supporting roles. Denny declined to be interviewed by IID investigators and did not write an incident report, with Salisbury Police taking the position that its reporting requirement did not apply because Denny had relinquished the lead position to Munir before the fatal crash.
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Deputy David Munir joined the pursuit after Mitchell’s Honda struck his patrol SUV. The Attorney General’s review found no internal-affairs complaints but revealed that Munir had already participated in five police pursuits before Mitchell’s death; Wicomico County’s internal pursuit-review board had classified all five as within policy. Munir also declined an IID interview but submitted a written report six days after the crash.
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Both departments avoided conducting their own full pursuit reviews after Mitchell’s death. Salisbury Police maintained that Denny had discontinued his pursuit when Munir took the lead and therefore its post-pursuit reporting requirement did not apply. Wicomico County similarly maintained that its pursuit review was unnecessary because Salisbury Police initiated the chase and Mitchell had crashed before Munir formally began pursuing him.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://oag.maryland.gov/resources-info/Documents/pdfs/IID/052022_IID_Report.pdf
https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/press/2022/052022.pdf
https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/video-shows-salisbury-police-chase-that-ended-in-deadly-crash
https://www.wmdt.com/2021/10/police-attempted-traffic-stop-leads-to-fatal-crash-investigation-underway/
https://www.wmdt.com/2022/05/investigative-report-released-for-wicomico-co-fatal-police-pursuit-crash/
https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/victim-who-died-in-crash-during-salisbury-police-chase-identified/
https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/dashcam-footage-of-police-chase-that-led-to-fatal-crash-in-wicomico-county-released/