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Rashaun Mason

Age : 21

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 02/19/2023

Location : Corby Boulevard

City : South Bend

County : St. Joseph

State : Indiana

Agency : South Bend Police Department

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 02/19/2023, South Bend Police officers observed a vehicle traveling on Corby Boulevard without headlights illuminated and initiated a traffic stop attempt for the equipment violation (nonworking headlights). Officers activated emergency lights and began pursuing the vehicle when the driver did not stop. Police escalated the pursuit through city streets at increasing speeds. During the chase, the vehicle continued driving and ultimately crashed on Corby Boulevard, resulting in fatal injuries to both occupants. Rashaun Mason, identified as the driver, died from crash-related injuries at the scene following the police pursuit initiated for the headlight violation.
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ARMED STATUS AND REASON FOR ENCOUNTER: Investigative reporting suggests that Rashaun Mason was unarmed during the incident. No weapon recovery was reported in available coverage. The encounter began solely as a traffic enforcement action for driving without headlights at night. Public reporting did not identify any active warrants associated with the stop, and the pursuit was not initiated for a violent crime or felony investigation but for equipment failure. No confirmed violent offense context was documented in connection with the initial police contact.
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INCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION AND SEQUENCE: Police observed the vehicle traveling without headlights and attempted a stop along Corby Boulevard. Officers activated emergency equipment and pursued when the driver continued driving instead of stopping. The pursuit remained active through surface streets in the South Bend area before the vehicle crashed. Investigative reporting described the pursuit as brief but escalated due to the driver continuing to drive away from officers. The crash caused catastrophic injuries to both occupants, and emergency responders pronounced them dead at the scene. Authorities later confirmed the crash occurred after the attempted traffic stop and pursuit sequence rather than a standalone collision unrelated to police activity.
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FORENSIC AND MEDICAL FINDINGS: The deaths were medically classified as vehicle crash fatalities resulting from blunt force trauma sustained in the collision. No firearm discharge occurred during the incident. Law enforcement did not report the use of a PIT maneuver or firearm force in publicly available summaries. The fatal injuries were attributed to the high-impact crash following the police pursuit.
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IDENTITY AND PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Local reporting identified Rashaun Mason as a 21-year-old man from the South Bend area. Coverage described him through references to his local residency and community ties rather than any violent criminal narrative. Reporting indicated discussion surrounding prior minor legal issues, including a past marijuana-related conviction referenced in community commentary, but no reporting established that a violent criminal history or serious warrant was driving the stop. The available record emphasizes that the initiating reason for police contact was a minor traffic equipment violation.
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FAMILY RESPONSE AND PUBLIC STATEMENTS: Public reporting and community reactions questioned the necessity of initiating and escalating a vehicle pursuit over a nonviolent equipment violation. Commentary referenced concerns about whether the pursuit was proportionate to the underlying offense and whether the escalation contributed to the fatal outcome. Statements circulating in local discourse suggested Mason may have had prior negative experiences with law enforcement, which some community voices speculated could have influenced his decision to continue driving, though no official investigative finding confirmed a definitive motive for flight.
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LAWSUIT AND LITIGATION OUTCOME: As of available follow-up reporting, there has been limited widely reported federal civil litigation specifically centered on Rashaun Mason’s death. However, the dual-fatality crash tied to a police pursuit drew scrutiny regarding pursuit policy and proportional enforcement practices. The absence of major publicly documented civil litigation in mainstream reporting suggests the case did not develop into a high-profile federal excessive force lawsuit, though policy and accountability questions remained part of the public discourse surrounding the incident.
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PROSECUTORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW: The incident was investigated under standard post-pursuit review protocols. Public reporting indicates the crash was treated as a pursuit-related fatality rather than a direct use-of-force shooting, which typically shifts legal scrutiny toward policy compliance rather than criminal charging of officers. No criminal charges against officers were publicly reported in follow-up coverage related to the pursuit and crash.
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IMPORTANT INSTITUTIONAL DETAIL: Vehicle pursuit fatalities initiated over low-level traffic violations often undergo internal policy review rather than criminal investigation when no firearm or direct force is used. In many jurisdictions, pursuits for minor infractions such as equipment violations are permitted at officer discretion, and resulting crash deaths are frequently classified legally as collision fatalities rather than police use-of-force deaths, even when the pursuit directly precedes the fatal crash. This classification can limit prosecutorial exposure while shifting accountability debates toward departmental pursuit policies.
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OFFICER IDENTIFICATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY: Officer names were not widely disclosed in early reporting, and publicly accessible coverage primarily referenced South Bend Police Department collectively rather than naming individual pursuing officers. There is no widely reported firing, criminal indictment, or disciplinary termination publicly tied to the officers involved in the pursuit based on available follow-up reporting.
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INCIDENT RECONSTRUCTION AND SEQUENCE: Police observed the vehicle traveling without headlights and attempted a stop along Corby Boulevard. Officers activated emergency equipment and pursued when the driver continued driving instead of stopping. The pursuit remained active through surface streets in the South Bend area before the vehicle crashed. Investigative reporting described the pursuit as brief but escalated due to the driver continuing to drive away from officers. The crash caused catastrophic injuries to both occupants, and emergency responders pronounced them dead at the scene. Authorities later confirmed the crash occurred after the attempted traffic stop and pursuit sequence rather than a standalone collision unrelated to police activity.
***
FORENSIC AND MEDICAL FINDINGS: The deaths were medically classified as vehicle crash fatalities resulting from blunt force trauma sustained in the collision. No firearm discharge occurred during the incident. Law enforcement did not report the use of a PIT maneuver or firearm force in publicly available summaries. The fatal injuries were attributed to the high-impact crash following the police pursuit.
***
IDENTITY AND PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Local reporting identified Rashaun Mason as a 21-year-old man from the South Bend area. Coverage described him through references to his local residency and community ties rather than any violent criminal narrative. Reporting indicated discussion surrounding prior minor legal issues, including a past marijuana-related conviction referenced in community commentary, but no reporting established that a violent criminal history or serious warrant was driving the stop. The available record emphasizes that the initiating reason for police contact was a minor traffic equipment violation.
***
LAWSUIT AND LITIGATION OUTCOME: As of available follow-up reporting, there has been limited widely reported federal civil litigation specifically centered on Rashaun Mason’s death. However, the dual-fatality crash tied to a police pursuit drew scrutiny regarding pursuit policy and proportional enforcement practices. The absence of major publicly documented civil litigation in mainstream reporting suggests the case did not develop into a high-profile federal excessive force lawsuit, though policy and accountability questions remained part of the public discourse surrounding the incident.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://apnews.com/article/south-bend-291535b310521c51948264b0afa18a52
https://www.wndu.com/2023/02/21/2-killed-after-car-hits-tree-south-bend-sunday-morning/
https://www.953mnc.com/2023/02/21/two-men-killed-in-crash-at-corby-blvd-and-jacob-street-in-south-bend/
https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/news/crime/2023/02/21/two-men-killed-in-corby-crash-involving-brief-pursuit-from-south-bend-police/69927256007/