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Raymond Jackson

Age : 43

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 04/25/2021

Location : 9th Street and Harrison Avenue

City : Rockford

County : Winnebago

State : Illinois

Agency : Rockford Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Police pursued someone else who had warrants.
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NARRATIVE:
On 04/25/2021, 43-year-old Raymond Jackson of Rockford was killed when a vehicle fleeing Rockford Police Department officers crashed into the vehicle Jackson was driving at 9th Street and Harrison Avenue in Rockford. Jackson was an uninvolved motorist and had two of his children riding with him.
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The fatal sequence began at approximately 4:50 p.m. as Rockford police attempted to apprehend a man wanted on three outstanding arrest warrants. The Winnebago County State's Attorney subsequently said the fleeing driver had been released from jail on furlough before the fatal pursuit.
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Police initially attempted to stop the vehicle near Whitman and Church streets. Rockford Police Department SCOPE Team officers subsequently deployed stop sticks near Brooke Road and 9th Street. The vehicle drove over the stop sticks but continued away at high speed as police pursued.
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The fleeing vehicle reached speeds reported at approximately 90 mph. Roughly one mile after encountering the stop sticks, the driver approached the intersection of 9th Street and Harrison Avenue and entered against a red traffic signal.
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Raymond Jackson was driving through the intersection with the right-of-way when the vehicle under pursuit crashed into his vehicle. The impact critically injured Jackson and injured the two children riding with him. Contemporary reporting identified the children as a 12-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.
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Jackson was transported to a Rockford hospital, where he died from his injuries. His children survived and were hospitalized. Later court records identified the children as Raylynn Jackson and Jonathan Jackson.
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Jackson was married to Tracey Jackson and was the father of five children. His family was expecting another child at the time he was killed. His death left his wife to care for their family while the two children who had been riding with their father recovered from injuries sustained in the crash.
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Tracey Jackson subsequently filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the City of Rockford and the fleeing driver. The lawsuit alleged that Rockford police acted willfully and wantonly by initiating and continuing a high-speed pursuit through an urban area and failing to terminate it as the danger increased. The complaint cited the Rockford Police Department pursuit policy and alleged that officers' actions contributed to the circumstances that resulted in Raymond Jackson's death.
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Contemporary local news coverage directly documented that Jackson was killed during a Rockford Police Department pursuit. WIFR reported the crash and Jackson's death immediately after the incident and subsequently reported the police pursuit, outstanding warrants, stop-stick deployment and wrongful-death litigation. WREX also documented the fatal pursuit and subsequent court proceedings.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The involved Rockford Police Department officers have not been publicly identified and were not charged for their role in this fatal pursuit.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wifr.com/2021/04/25/crews-respond-to-accident-at-9th-st-and-brooke-rd-in-rockford/
https://www.wifr.com/2021/04/26/rockford-man-43-killed-in-sunday-afternoon-crash/
https://www.wifr.com/2021/05/06/officials-say-suspect-involved-in-fatal-rockford-crash-was-out-of-jail-on-furlough/
https://www.wifr.com/2021/05/26/wrongful-death-lawsuit-filed-by-wife-of-victim-killed-in-officer-involved-rockford-crash/
https://www.wifr.com/2024/05/10/rockford-man-admits-causing-crash-that-killed-43-year-old-father/
https://wrex.com/news/top-stories/wife-of-man-killed-in-police-chase-files-lawsuit-against-city-of-rockford/article_9f04a928-b7ea-11eb-b90b-5f12430eb7da.html
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/wrex.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/76/c7655db9-9dce-522c-8595-450428b2a2b1/61425f8901e9c.file.pdf