BPD Policy Under Fire After HS Football Players Are Hit In Police Pursuit
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Police continue their investigation into a police pursuit that ended with one man dead and several others in the hospital. Did officers break policy?
Monique Griego has more on the questions surrounding the department's no pursuit policy.
Police are now looking into all the circumstances surrounding the crash, including the traffic stop that started it all.
Dunbar High School football players are still recovering after a speeding car fleeing from police crashed into their SUV Friday night.
"If we didn't get out of the lane, he would have hit us head-on and the police officer was right behind him. He wouldn't have had a chance to survive," said Kyre Hawkins.
Police say the suspect, Tabbit Christian Sidney, took off after officers tried to pull him over. Sidney ended up crashing into a tree, killing himself and severely injuring his passenger.
"I heard the police officers saying the other guy's dead," Hawkins said.
The players now want answers from police, saying officers tailing the suspect broke the department's no pursuit policy.
"They make it seem like the police were creeping around the corners, peeking here and there," Hawkins said. "The police were really chasing him on their backside."
The family of the suspect killed also have questions. They came to the scene looking for answers.
Baltimore City police say they're investigating all the circumstances surrounding the crash, including whether the initial traffic stop was warranted and whether officers broke policy. They say there are exceptions to the no chase rule.
"If you have an incident that could jeopardize human life or significant danger, then exceptions can be made," said Anthony Guglielmi, Baltimore City Police spokesperson.
Police did find a handgun and two replica guns inside the suspect's vehicle.
"At the end of the day, this is a bad guy with a gun taken off the streets," Guglielmi said.
But the players feel the officers should also be held accountable.
"The police [weren't] supposed to be chasing him and if they wouldn't have been chasing him, he wouldn't have hit us," Hawkins said.
All of the players are out of the hospital. They have now obtained a lawyer.
The passenger in the suspect's vehicle is expected to be OK. He will face charges for the crash.
