A transcript of radio traffic between Concord officers and headquarters shows how a police pursuit turned deadly.
Chief Merl Hamilton released the document Wednesday.
Hamilton said an internal Concord Police investigation cleared several officers involved in a high speed chase May 22 from Concord Mills mall to Mallard Creek Road in Charlotte.
Fleeing suspect Demario Rollins, 18, crashed head-on into 84-year-old Docia Barber who was returning from a trip to the pharmacy. She died at ther scene. Rollins is charged with second-degree murder.
The transcript describes the initial shoplifting call about a woman taking shoes from Finish Line and how officers tracked a car believed to be involved in the theft.
Click here to read the transcript.
- Christopher D. Kirkpatrick
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
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21 comments:
WOW! This is awesome work guys. Regardless of the fact... Continue to do your best and again thanks for all you do!
look, i'm all for cops catching crooks and all that. but this shouldn't have been. guy ran off the road? twice? before he hit the other car head on? what, the pursuing officers thinking third time the lucky charm for him to finally hit someone?
and these cops weren't doing 70 in pursuit. get real. they were hammer. 90-100 ... because you know the fleeing perp was.
over a pair of shoes? i don't think that is much comfort to the family of the woman killed.
I live in the neighborhood adjacent to where the crash happened and it is an OUTRAGE the police let this pursuit continue into such a high residential area with neighborhoods on all sides when they knew this was all over stolen items and not a kidnapping, murder, etc...Schoolbuses were running and dropping kids off along that very same road at the time of the accident and the street is only one-lane each way. Bad judgment call by the police. Of course they will protect their own but I'm sorry there was no one thinking to protect the life of the innocent victim and my condolences go out to her grieving family.
God rest her soul... 84 years old and to die like that is horrible! All this over sum dumb ass shoes! Go to HeLL first comment!
Perhaps it would be necessary that some cop's relatives are killed in one of those absurd chases to stop this demential police measure? Same question for the first comment. What about if your mother is killed? Would you write the same moronic phrase? Do you think that if the cops are banned of using sirens and lights in a chase, they will dare to drive to 100 miles per hour? Of course not!!! They can be bullies but no stupids.
3:15pm. My daughter's school bus is taking her to afterschool right past there. 90mph chase on this winding, residential road is nuts. Especially over a pair of sneakers. Poor judgement
are you people CRAZY...it is that DAMN kids fault...he commit a robbery...a CRIME...then he fled the scene and didn't pull over when the officers came up on him..HE ran from them...HE hit this lady headon...Have you all lost your freaking minds???????
The outcome of the chase was tragic but the thugs are completely responsible for also killing this 84 year old woman, not the police. The fleeing thugs probably knew the residential area might make good cover and might have expected the police to abandon the chase. As one commenter above I also live in a big neighborhood adjacent to the area where the crash occurred and I say let chases continue till all thugs are apprehended and sent to jail. This sends a message to small time crooks who if not stopped now in all probability will continue a life of crime and become future convicted felons. I say not here, not in Charlotte. This little fleeing thug who views life and property as simply there to be pilfered will not be killing again any time soon. A big thank you to the Concord police department!!! Keep up the dedication to the good citizens. You may have a few steaming opponents and but if a vote was taken your support would be a landslide.
Can you imagine if these lawbreakers and hoodlums know with assurance they will not be pursued?? You can bet these type crimes will rapidly increase, and more deaths will eventually follow. We have tied the hands of law enforcement. They are the only thing standing between us and anarchy!
I agree that is this a chase that should not have taken place. Also after reading the transcript, I could see that Officer Patterson leaves a lot to be desired as a police officer. Not knowing exactly where he was and then have another officer pinpoint it as right in from of a church. Most likely slowed EMS responders. His guessing at where he is shows he doesnt have the knowledge of area and shouldnt have been chasing
A chase that shouldn't have happened and a life that shouldn't have been lost, it's very sad. I did not see in the transcript where the officers had dispatch check the tag number out. Officers, knowing it was time of day kids would be on school bus should have been enough to abandon the chase. If they had done the check on car Tag and car had not been stolen, could be easily taken care of. Sure the thief was at fault, however unprofessionalism of officers played a big part. Hope they get fired or resign after knowing they had a part in killing a lady
Here's an idea: Don't pursue shoplifters in high speed car chases, but when the criminals get busted in the future (as they probably will) for more serious crimes, put them in prison for life.
Hey Mary...let's make a law that says "if it's just robbery, drive slow and have a great day" if it's a more serious crime..drive fast and the officers will know that it's OK to chase you...you people make me puke!!!!!!!!
they had NO part in killing this lady people...this criminal killed her....what the hell is wrong with you???????
Hey Sarge...what time is it? and what did they do? did they leave there tag number so when there is nobody on the road we'll go check on them in a safe mannner? 10-4 Sarge this is a no chase time and zone...WOW this CRIMINAL will wait till later to let me arrest him when it's safe...what a great guy this CRIMINAL is...Thanks Sarge..Over and OUT
Most of you on here are whats wrong with this country.....Just because someone got killed now its the officers faults. You all would be dong a different song and dance had it been someone who broke into your house or did something directly too you....Its easy to be the arm chair quarterback. Those officers should get a medal for taking a thug a#$ piece of trash off the streets.
I agree that it is tragic that the lady lost her life and my heart goes out to the family. Now, I also agree with the people that are putting the blame where it needs to go... on the criminals. Blaming the police is equivalent to blaming a gun for someone's death... it's not the gun that killed, it was the person pulling the trigger. The criminals in this case "pulled the trigger" by, first, stealing items that they had no place stealing and, second, not stopping when the polcie tried to stop them. As for "running the tag" to see if the car is stolen, from what I read on the transcript, they attempted to run the tag. It appears that it was a temporary tag and those "paper tags" do not come back registered to a car. Again, it is tragic, but everyone always seems to want to focus on the police because they are easy targets.
Also, the officers couldn't trace the tag because it was a temp tag so please stop using that as an excuse.....
Now Jason...the officers should have waited on this CRIMINAL to go get his tag before chasing him for COMMITTING a crime..sorry folks...couldn't pull him over cause he had a temp tag...this CRIMINAL shouldn't have been expected to pull over....they're all IDIOT's...thx for having some common sense Jason..
So where is that District 4 nerdy smirking black councilman Michael Barnes who rushed immediately to the defense of this young black criminal and chastised the cops?
Were the 2 cops white? They should be investigated by Charlotte Mecklenburg too since the final crimes occured here. They are getting off too easy.
We know Barnes would have said nothing had it been a white female killed though so telltale of these liberal reverse racist bigoted politicans ...
Maybe a better police system can be developed to prevent overlap in the future since obviously counties are converging as one big Metro-Charlotte conglomerate.
We hope other county cops call the CMPD cops to finish it off next time and are at least reassigned to desk jobs.
Anyone who lives in the adjacent Lexington neighborhood knows this chase was just another obvious typical example of RACISM!!! Will somweone please alert the Jessie Jackson Push and Shove Extortion Company...
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