No Charges Filed For Chase

No charges will be filed in a South Jersey police chase where a suspect and an innocent man were killed. Video from the police car shows officers in pursuit of a subject. The officer is crossing into the oncoming traffic lane following the suspect. The pursuit ends in a violent crash in Haddonfield, New Jersey on November 25, 2003. The suspect that was being chased died. Thomas Fitzgerald was also killed when he was hit by the car. Officials now say that no charges will be filed, “It's a violation of the guidelines or poor judgment it does not constitute criminal misconduct.”

Another reason no charges are being filed is the patrolman driving the lead car was not involved in the crash. Now it's up to the chiefs of four police departments to decide if t administering action should be taken against the officers.

This chase raises issues of potential violations of the guidelines. Those issues are
was the chase justified
did the lead car feel threatened by the suspect and pursue
the speed at the time of the crash; Jansky was traveling 109 miles an hour, the officers averaged 62 miles per hour during the chase
the route traveled; were other motorists or pedestrians lives threatened during the chase.

New Jersey state guidelines state no more than two law enforcement vehicles should be involved in the chase at one time.

The families involved made no comment. Phone calls to the police chiefs of the departments involved were not returned. They have 45 days to decide whether or not they will file any administrative action.

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Author: NBC10