Dec 18, 2024 Story by: Editor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Trevon Mitchell’s lifeless body lay in a parking lot near a soul food restaurant, his left arm fractured and blood dripping from his ear. Sirens wailed as flames erupted from a truck nearby, marking the chaotic aftermath of a high-speed police chase.
Witnesses recounted seeing Mitchell hurled into the air, soaring as high as the green traffic light at the intersection before crashing onto the pavement. The impact stripped away flesh, leaving his intestines exposed. “I’m about to die,” he murmured as his best friend, Aidan Colmore, desperately tried to keep him conscious. “Wake up, Trey,” Colmore pleaded. “Don’t do this on me.”
Moments earlier, the two friends had been riding mopeds west of downtown Louisville. Suddenly, a black Ford Five Hundred sedan sped into the intersection. The driver, fleeing police after failing to use a turn signal, ran a red light at 95 mph, triggering a devastating crash that injured seven people. Colmore was briefly knocked unconscious but rushed to Mitchell’s side, tapping his face and urging him to stay awake until help arrived. Tragically, Mitchell’s heart stopped shortly after arriving at the hospital.
This fatal 2021 incident highlights a troubling trend: Black motorists and bystanders are disproportionately dying in police pursuits. A Chronicle investigation uncovered that between 2017 and 2022, police chases across the U.S. claimed more than 3,600 lives, with nearly a third — at least 1,150 — being Black individuals. These findings were derived from federal records, court documents, local news reports, and watchdog research.
Disproportionate Deaths in Pursuits
Black people are dying in police pursuits at four times the per-capita rate of white individuals. This disparity extends beyond drivers to bystanders like Mitchell, who accounted for over 25% of bystander fatalities, even though Black Americans represent only 13% of the population.
The investigation further revealed that deadly pursuits are more likely to occur in predominantly Black neighborhoods. Census data showed that one in seven pursuit-related deaths occurred in majority-Black areas, despite such neighborhoods comprising just one in 13 U.S. communities.
Kristy Parker, a former deputy chief in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, called these findings “outrageous.” She emphasized, “This is a feature of systemic racism that exists within many systems in this country, but certainly within law enforcement.”
Violent Crimes vs. Minor Infractions
High-speed chases are typically justified for apprehending dangerous criminals. However, The Chronicle’s analysis found that many Black individuals died in chases initiated over minor infractions, often in violation of police department policies. For example:
- A 5-month-old girl in Parma, Ohio, died when her father, fleeing after shoplifting food, crashed into a garbage truck.
- A 62-year-old Milwaukee police dispatcher nearing retirement was killed when a fleeing driver struck her vehicle.
- Trevon Mitchell, a 22-year-old college student aspiring to join the Navy SEALs, lost his life after a chase over a minor traffic violation.
The Police Executive Research Forum recently issued guidelines urging officers to pursue suspects only if they’ve committed violent crimes and pose an imminent threat. However, these recommendations are non-binding and lack any reference to racial disparities. Chuck Wexler, the forum’s executive director, admitted, “This opens up a new area for review.”
Fear and Systemic Racism
Chauncee Smith, of Catalyst California, explained that fear often prompts Black drivers to flee police stops, even for minor offenses. “With this history, people of color know it’s a life-or-death situation,” Smith said. “We’ve seen numerous people of color killed at the hands of law enforcement for things that did not need to happen.”
In Mitchell’s case, Officer Benjamin Sullivan initiated the chase after spotting a black Ford sedan with tinted windows. Sullivan later testified that he acted on a “gut feeling” and aimed to get “bad people off the street.” Yet, he acknowledged that the pursuit violated department policy, which restricts chases to suspects involved in violent crimes.
The chase lasted 34 seconds, during which Sullivan’s squad car reached 89 mph. As the Ford ran a red light, it plowed into multiple vehicles, killing Mitchell and severely injuring others.
A Call for Change
Between 2017 and 2022, Louisville police initiated six fatal pursuits. Five of the victims were Black, and four of those deaths stemmed from traffic infractions, which the department’s policy explicitly prohibits. Mitchell’s grandmother filed a wrongful death lawsuit, arguing that systemic issues in policing contributed to her grandson’s death.
“It’s a hunt,” said Tony Johnson, a West End resident and juror in the case. Reflecting on the risks faced by his family, Johnson said, “I look at their vehicles. I’ll make sure their tail lights are working.”
This crisis underscores the urgent need for accountability and reform in policing practices, particularly in Black communities. As Kristy Parker stated, “We should be shocked by these findings. The disparities should prompt action from state and federal lawmakers.” Source: San Francisco Chronicle
