Baltimore Police Officials Investigate Pursuit That Led To Accident
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Why did Baltimore City police officers continue a pursuit after a commander called it off? It's a question the department is trying to answer right now.
Mike Hellgren has new information.
Police admit a commanding officer called off the pursuit of a moped that ended in a crash with serious injuries in north Baltimore Sunday. Now they're trying to find out why the officers continued it. WJZ is digging deeper: was it a violation of the city's stringent no-chase policy?
"Supervisors have an absolute responsibility to do what they can to make sure that the policies of the police department are being followed," said police policy expert Rob Weinhold.
Pieces of the moped remain at the scene. WJZ listened to police and fire dispatch recordings, which provide a clearer picture of what happened that day.
The commander gave the order to stop. The crash occurred 15 seconds later.
In exclusive video WJZ obtained, you can hear the injured scream. On Facebook, a relative of the moped rider says he was badly hurt but claims he did not break the law.
"He must have hit that pole pretty hard," said Carlton Perry. "I thought I heard they weren't supposed to be chasing them."
"You have to remember there's a lot happening at the time. There's often a lot of noise. Maybe sirens are blaring, competing radio transmissions and the officer's adrenaline is pumping," Weinhold said.
An exhaustive investigation includes a police recreation at the scene.
The moped was a licensed vehicle.
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