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Cordell Jackson

Age : 34

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/25/2021

Location : Great Trinity Forest Way and Wadsworth Drive

City : Dallas

County : Dallas

State : Texas

Agency : Dallas Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle taken during an armed carjacking. Dallas police officers spotted a black Toyota Camry that had been stolen at gunpoint the previous evening, confirmed through its registration that it was the stolen vehicle, and attempted to stop it in the 1000 block of South Buckner Boulevard. The 14-year-old driver continued driving away and police pursued.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 08/25/2021, 34-year-old Cordell Jackson was killed when a stolen Toyota Camry being pursued by Dallas Police Department officers ran a red light and crashed into the Chevrolet Impala he was driving at Great Trinity Forest Way and Wadsworth Drive in Dallas. Jackson was an uninvolved motorist and had no connection to the carjacking or police pursuit.
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The Camry had been stolen during an armed carjacking the previous evening in East Dallas. Police said a person armed with a handgun threatened a woman as she was getting into the vehicle, demanded her property and took the Camry.
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At approximately 1:10 a.m. the following morning, Dallas officers spotted the Camry in the 1000 block of South Buckner Boulevard near Lake June Road and C.F. Hawn Freeway. After checking its registration and determining that it was the vehicle stolen in the armed carjacking, officers attempted a traffic stop. The driver continued driving away and police pursued.
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The pursuit continued at high speed through Dallas, Balch Springs and Hutchins before returning to Dallas. Contemporary accounts place its duration at approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Available reporting does not provide a documented maximum speed for either the Camry or pursuing police vehicles. No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or intentional police-vehicle contact was publicly reported.
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At Great Trinity Forest Way and Wadsworth Drive, the Camry entered the intersection against a red light and crashed into Jackson's Chevrolet Impala. Jackson and a female passenger in his vehicle were taken to a hospital. Jackson died from his injuries. His passenger suffered serious injuries but survived and was subsequently released from the hospital.
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The Camry's 14-year-old driver and three passengers—two other juveniles and one adult—were taken into custody after the crash and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Police said the 14-year-old had a handgun. Because Jackson was an uninvolved bystander, the identities and unrelated histories of the people in the pursued vehicle are not pertinent to his report.
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Police charged the 14-year-old driver with murder, evading police, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and unlawful carrying of a weapon. Dallas Police Chief Eddie García said after Jackson's death that the department was reviewing the pursuit and its vehicle-pursuit policies, while stating that he initially believed the officers had followed department guidelines.
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Jackson was 34 years old. Public reporting about his death focused almost entirely on the pursuit and provides little reliable information about his family, occupation, interests or life outside the fatal collision.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Dallas Police Department officers who initiated and participated in the pursuit have not been publicly identified in the available reporting.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/dallas-police-chase-stolen-car-crash-innocent-driver-dead/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2021/08/25/14-year-old-3-others-taken-into-custody-after-police-chase-ends-in-crash-killing-innocent-driver/
https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-police-chase-involving-teen-carjacking-suspects-ends-in-crash-innocent-driver-killed
https://www.wbap.com/2021/08/26/dallas-14-year-old-charged-with-murder-after-high-speed-police-chase-ends-in-crash/