Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Alyjah Thomas
Age : 15
Gender : Male
Race : Black
Date : 09/03/2021
Location : Larpenteur Avenue East and Chamber Street
City : Maplewood
County : Ramsey
State : Minnesota
Agency : Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 09/03/2021, 15-year-old Alyjah Thomas was killed when a stolen vehicle carrying six teenagers crashed into a residential yard near Larpenteur Avenue East and Chamber Street during a pursuit by Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies.
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At approximately 3:40 p.m., a Ramsey County deputy spotted the stolen vehicle near Beebe Road North and Holloway Avenue East and attempted to stop it. The driver continued driving away southbound on Beebe Road, and deputies pursued.
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The pursuit covered approximately two miles in about two minutes. The vehicle turned west onto Larpenteur Avenue. The pursuing deputy reported losing sight of it near Clarence Street.
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Approximately three blocks later, the vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a residential yard near Larpenteur Avenue and Chamber Street. Thomas and 14-year-old passenger Marcoz Paramo were critically injured and died. Two other teenagers were seriously injured.
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The Minnesota State Patrol conducted the crash reconstruction. The 15-year-old driver was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide, one count of fleeing a peace officer and three counts of criminal vehicular operation.
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The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office released dashcam footage on 10/08/2021 showing the sheriff’s cruiser pursuing the vehicle along Larpenteur Avenue before the fatal crash.
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The families publicly questioned the decision to conduct the pursuit. Paramo’s mother, Tanya Gile, explicitly blamed the sheriff’s deputies rather than the teenage driver for the deaths and called for changes to pursuit practices involving juveniles.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Ramsey County deputy or deputies who conducted the pursuit were not publicly identified in the sources located for this update.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://www.fox9.com/news/sheriff-releases-video-of-deadly-chase-in-maplewood-minn
https://www.startribune.com/two-teens-killed-in-maplewood-crash-identified/600094093
