Duson Police will review second pursuit crash this year
Several people are recovering after a big car crash in Lafayette on Thursday night. It happened during a police pursuit of a suspect in a stolen vehicle.
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) - Several people are recovering after a big car crash in Lafayette on Thursday night. It happened during a police pursuit of a suspect in a stolen vehicle.
Duson Police started pursuing the stolen vehicle from I-10. The driver ended up crashing into other vehicles at the intersection of Bertrand Drive and Devalcourt Street. Lafayette Police say a total of seven people were injured in the crash. The driver of the car in the police pursuit was a juvenile. No arrests have been made.
This is the second chase involving Duson Police in eight months that resulted in a crash. Police Chief Kip Judice says there will be a thorough review of the officer's pursuit of the suspect.
"We are going to come together to review the policy," said Judice. "We're going to sit with the officer. We will discuss all of the things."
Duson Police were involved in a similar high speed chase of a suspect, who allegedly stole money from a casino back in April. It was determined the officer did everything by the book. However, a change was made in the department's pursuit policy. Officers are now advised not to chase a suspect the wrong way down a one-way street.
"We are working very hard to get these policies in place to protect innocent people, but will capture the bad guys," said Judice.
Judice says the dash cam video will be reviewed from Thursday night's pursuit, to see if the officer complied with policy. He says he will reach out to Lafayette Police, the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, and concerned citizens to be part of the review process.
"We've had enough of these incidents that we can look at them across the board. Try to work on that policy, and the four corners of it, to make sure we have a sound policy, and that the public has trust in what we're doing out there," said Judice.
Judice says he would like to pass along well-wishes to everyone who was injured in the crash.