Action News Jax investigates JSO vehicle pursuit policy after one dead, several injured in chase

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A high-speed chase left one person dead and several others hurt in the Panama Park neighborhood.

"They had to cut two or three of them out of the vehicle," neighbor Billy Davis said.

The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department told Action News Jax at around 7 p.m. Monday night, a red SUV slammed into a tree near a home at the intersection of 44th Street and Edmonds Avenue.

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Davis remembers what he saw when he walked outside.

"I said, 'What in the world is going on out here?' It was tore up," Davis said.

JSO said it was in the middle of a multiagency operation when an officer tried to stop the SUV. They say it was traveling dangerously through traffic.

"We got good cops in this city. We just got some that try to take matters in their own hands, and it don't work like that, especially when you're in a hot pursuit," Davis said.

According its policy, JSO can initiate a pursuit for many reasons. One of them is if a driver refuses to pull over when an officer's lights and sirens are activated.

It says a pursuit can also happen if there is suspicion that a driver is committing a forcible felony, driving recklessly or under the influence of alcohol.

But Davis feels the policy needs to change to help save lives.

"You know, you got some of them out there that try to be heroes, try to make a capture on their own so they can be heroes, but it doesn't work like that, that's why you have radios, you call for backup," Davis said.

No officers or first responders were injured in the crash.

The person who died has not been named, but neighbors believe it was a woman.

Action News Jax is still working to learn the condition of several others taken to the hospital.

In the meantime, Action News Jax has requested calls to dispatch, 911 calls and number of pursuits that involved a JSO officer in 2019.

We will update you as soon as we get any new information.

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