Georgia
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We will remember your loved ones at Kristie's Law and PursuitSAFETY. Send stories & pictures of your loved one(s) killed or injured due to a police pursuit crash to candypriano@kristieslaw.org
Georgia
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Pursuit-related deaths per 100K: 4.1
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Pursuit-related deaths (1996-2015): 369 (3rd highest)
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Violent crimes per 100K (2015): 378.3 (24th highest)
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Bystander deaths (1996-2015): 76 (11th highest)
Source
A police pursuit crash is not a "terrible accident" as reported in this AJC news video
Three bystanders killed:
Clemente Flores, 22, Marcus Martin, 22, and Camerino Sanchez-Hernandez, 20
South Fulton
2018
Chief: South Fulton chase policy change will ‘honor’
3 men who died
One month after three young men died in a fiery wreck with an officer, the South Fulton Police Department has a new police chase policy the chief hopes will “honor” the dead.
Like officers with other police agencies in the metro area, South Fulton’s cops will no longer be allowed to chase stolen vehicles simply because they are stolen. [This change represents one of the hard-fought goals found in PursuitSAFETY's mission.]
Officers will instead need another justification to explain why the fleeing person poses more danger to the public than a high-speed pursuit would.
Authorities have said officer Deonte Walker, 25, was chasing a stolen Mercedes Benz on Nov. 11 when he collided with a work van, which burst into flames on Ga. 138. Three men inside the van died. The Mercedes got away.
Read the rest of this news story at AJC news.
Marvin was a veteran of the United States Army and proudly served his country for 29 years, retiring at the rank of Master Sergeant. He served in the Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan, four tours of duty in the Iraq War, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (4th Award). He also served in Korea, Haiti, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. Stateside, his assignments included Fort Benning, GA, Fort Jackson, SC, Fort Hood, TX, Fort Polk, LA, and Fort Stewart, GA.
After his retirement, Marvin’s favorite pastimes were riding his motorcycle and playing dominoes.
Will add more information about the chase.
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Obituary
Dorothy Smith Wright, 75, Cameron Costner, 12, and Layla Partridge, 6
Southwest Atlanta
2016
A southwest Atlanta woman was heading to church in January 2016 with her two grandchildren when a man fleeing College Park police slammed into their car, killing all three.
Now their family is urging Georgia lawmakers to establish a statewide policy for when officers should pursue a suspect and when they should call off that chase to keep the public safe.
“State Patrol gets a year of training,” said Doug Partridge, whose children and mother-in-law were killed in the crash. “But city police aren’t getting enough training to know how to handle these chases.”
The above copy is from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Krysztof Krawczyński, 77 and Elżbieta Gürtler-Krawczyńska, 78
Gwinnett County
2016
The Johns Creek Police Department initiated the chase of a vehicle for “equipment violation” because it had multiple antennae. This chase lasted for 4 miles and reportedly reached speeds of 83 m.p.h. The married couple was driving home after celebrating the wife's 78th birthday. The suspect’s car crashed into the innocent couple’s car and killed them.
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Polish community grieves loss of couple vital to Catholic apostolate
Georgia Bulletin
After immigrating to the United States from Poland in the mid-1980s, Dr. Krzysztof Krawczyński and his wife, Dr. Elżbieta Gürtler-Krawczyńska, excelled in medical research careers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Emory University in Atlanta.
They brought that same passion, dedication and depth to the Polish community in Georgia, including fostering the Polish Catholic apostolate in the Atlanta Archdiocese and strengthening community bonds through music and cultural traditions.
Dr. Gurtler-Krawczynska was retired from Emory's School of Medicine and her husband, 77, was a retired CDC researcher.
The death of Kathy Porter, wife of Atlanta Braves trainer Jeff Porter, is the inevitable result of unnecessary police chases in Georgia and elsewhere.
Kathy died when their family's vehicle was struck on New Year's Eve 2011 by a Georgia State Patrol trooper who was racing to join a high-speed pursuit. The Porters were heading to the Chick-fil-A Bowl with their son and another passenger when they were struck at the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Memorial Drive.
Jeff Porter, the couple's son and another passenger were injured. The trooper, Donald Crozier, had a history of wrecks and was fired from the force and was convicted of vehicular homicide.
The above copy is from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"We were two years apart, so we grew up together. Laura was a hard worker and very high-spirited. She was always there for me and our family." ~Rosa Lovett, Laura's Sister
News 12, March 7, 2008
AUGUSTA, Ga—High speed police chases getting mixed reactions.
Law enforcement calling them necessary, while some families of people killed in crashes want justice and for the chases to stop.
In June of 2006, John Branton's wife, Margaret, her son and his unborn child were killed by a driver running from the cops after shoplifting from an Evans store. Now, the Brantons want law enforcement to pay.
It's a story that hits home for the family of Laura Felder. Rosa Lovett feels like she knows John Branton, even though they've never met.
"When you live through it, it goes deep. I have a different kind of connection and i don't even know them, but I can feel his pain and his anger. I can feel it."
A kind of pain she says you can't put into words. Lovett's sister Laura Felder killed Saturday in a fatal crash during a high speed police chase in Richmond County. "To lose them that way, it's horrifying."
By "them" she means family. John Branton losing his wife and her family in 2006 in another fatal crash during a high speed chase--this one in Columbia County. This February, Branton filed suit against the county and specifically Sheriff Clay Whittle and the Sheriff's Office--citing "reckless disregard of proper police procedure" because the deputy had no reason to believe the driver, Tiara Smith, had committed a forcible felony; one of the guidelines for chases in Columbia County.
Soldiers at Fort Benning remembered Joanna for her life. She was 4 feet eleven and tipped the scales at 92 pounds. Her commander said she was small in stature but a giant in love.
Sgt. JoAnna J. Ringer of Loris, South Carolina was a very compassionate person with a constant smile, loving people and life. She brought great joy to everyone she encountered. She was a member of East Conway Pentecostal Holiness Church.
She was serving our country as a Sergeant in the United States Army, stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia where she had been assigned since October 2005. She was assigned to the Continental United States Replacement Center unit of the 199th Infantry Regiment where she worked in the personnel department.
Investigators say 21 year-old Joanna Ringer died, after her car was hit by a suspect, who was fleeing police. The chase began when officers say they spotted Walker in a stolen red pickup truck at Wilson Apartments.
Billy Klewitz, 21
Lee County
2007
Innocent driver killed while police chased drug suspectWALB News10
Twenty one year old Billy Klewitz was on his way to pick up his sister from work Wednesday night when the crash happened. His Ford Taurus was hit head-on by the suspect in that high speed chase. Billy, who many of you will recognize as a Winn Dixie employee, died at the scene.
It was a text message from his sister Breanna that led Billy Klewitz down Old Leesburg Road to pick her up from her job at Phoebe Putney hospital. When he didn't show, his family got concerned. Their fears were realized when the Lee County EMS Director arrived.
"When I saw Bobby Watkins pull in my driveway I knew Billy had been hurt, and when I saw Sheriff Breeden that's the other chaplain," said William Klewitz Sr., Billy's Father Klewitz's car was hit head on, his life cut short.
"Very short, very, very short," said Klewitz.
Billy's family didn't know the circumstances of his wreck until Thursday morning.
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Billy's father wrote to Kristie's Law: "We call on our government leaders to examine closely the chase policy and do everything they can to avoid another deadly police chase."
Margaret Branton
Georgia
2006
A chase for a shoplifter killed two innocent people and an unborn baby. Margaret and her son Lonnie Turner, 37, were killed instantly. Lonnie's wife was injured and their unborn baby died.
Grashunda "Shunda"
Banks, 22
Hampton City
2000
“This beautiful woman gave the pastor her hand and God her heart.
Shunda, a senior at Georgia State University, had plans: "I will return home and become a kindergarten teacher.”
Shunda" died July 23, 2000. The chase began when a Hampton City officer observed a driver playing loud music and chased the driver for a suspected traffic violation. The driver hit the car driven by Shunda, a senior at Georgia State University.
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This public safety issue is worldwide.
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Source: The Bureau of Justice Statistics is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice. For state data, the report used pursuit-related fatalities from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTA), which uses the Fatality Analysis Reporting System*, 1996–2015, released May 9, 2017.
*The Fatality Analysis Reporting System receives data on pursuit deaths at the discretion of law enforcement officials.
The FBI reported in 2002: "The lack of a mandatory reporting system hampers attempts by NHTSA to track pursuit fatalities and results in the collection of as little as one-half of the actual data. Typically, only 90 percent of states report pursuit fatality data to NHTSA. By extrapolating the 5-year totals to include 100 percent reporting, calculations would show an average of 375 deaths per year. Even conservative estimates The reporting of pursuit fatalities is not mandatory and there is no government oversight."