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Isiah Smith

Age : 28

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 11/21/2021

Location : Michigan Avenue and Bunker Hill Road NE

City : Washington

County : District of Columbia

State : District of Columbia

Agency : Prince George’s County Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON WHY PURSUIT WAS INITIATED:
At approximately 10:55 p.m., a Prince George’s County Police officer alleged that Smith was driving a silver Acura “in an erratic manner” in unincorporated Hyattsville and initiated a traffic stop. Smith initially stopped.

EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 11/21/2021, at approximately 10:55 p.m., a Prince George’s County Police officer stopped 28-year-old Isiah Smith in unincorporated Hyattsville after alleging that he was driving erratically. When the officer approached the Acura on foot, Smith drove away. The officer returned to the patrol vehicle, activated emergency lights and siren, and police escalated a pursuit toward Washington, D.C.

During the pursuit, the officer broadcast the Acura’s license plate information. Another officer checked the plate and reported that the tags did not belong to the Acura. A supervisor then ordered the officer to discontinue the pursuit under department policy. Police alleged they discontinued the pursuit as Smith lost control of the Acura and crashed into a tree at Michigan Avenue and Bunker Hill Road NE in Washington’s North Michigan Park neighborhood.

The entire sequence from Smith driving away from the attempted traffic stop until the fatal crash lasted approximately 43 seconds. Prince George’s County officers reached the crash and attempted medical aid, but Smith died at the scene. He was the only person in the Acura. The available reporting does not establish a reliable pursuit speed or mileage.

The department’s Internal Affairs Division opened an investigation into the officer’s handling of the pursuit, and the officer was placed on administrative leave. Contemporary reporting noted that the publicly available version of PGPD’s general orders redacted its pursuit rules, leaving unclear precisely why the supervisor ordered the pursuit discontinued. D.C. Metropolitan Police investigated the crash itself.

TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
1 Fatality.

DISPOSITION:
Prince George’s County Police Internal Affairs investigated the pursuing officer’s role in initiating and continuing the fatal pursuit. No subsequent public criminal charge against the officer was located.

OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Prince George’s County Police did not publicly identify the officer who initiated and participated in the pursuit.

LITIGATION:
None found.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://pgpolice.blogspot.com/2021/11/pgpd-investigating-fatal-crash-driver.html
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/prince-georges-county/man-killed-in-crash-after-prince-georges-county-police-pursuit/2890582/
https://wtop.com/local/2021/11/police-man-fleeing-prince-georges-co-traffic-stop-killed-in-dc-crash/
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/prince-georges-county-pursuit-fatal-crash-in-dc/65-4d79bd40-bc6e-4997-9d1c-64a68f2f3be4
https://smnewsnet.com/archives/498673/prince-georges-county-police-investigating-fatal-crash-after-erratic-driver-flees-attempted-traffic-stop/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/11/22/man-dead-crash-prince-georges-police/