[Source via Universal Hub by adamg]
Families of two of the teens who died in a rollover crash on Morrissey Boulevard early on Jan. 4, 2024 have sued the city and three Boston Police officers they charge continued pursuing the car at high speed after after disregarding an order by a supervisor to stop the chase under a longstanding BPD rule against high-speed chases.
In their suits, the parents of Troy Winslow, 15 and a freshman at Madison Park, and Immanuel Brooks, 14, say their sons would still be alive today but not for the actions of officers Triston Champagnie, Matthew Farley and Chardeeza Coleman, whom they say chased the car they were in at speeds of up to 90 m.p.h. from Morton Street in Mattapan up to Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester, where the driver slammed into a pole and the car rolled over several times. Winslow’s parents also named the state in their suit – although they were not involved in the chase, State Police responded to the crash.
Two of the teens in the car were pronounced dead at the scene, a third was taken to a local hospital, where he later died, and the fourth suffered permanent injuries.
The two sets of parents filed their suits in Suffolk Superior Court; the city has requested to have the cases transferred to federal court because of allegations their sons’ federal civil rights were violated by the way they were chased and died.
According to the complaint by Troy Winslow’s parents, Jessica Adams and Tony Winslow, the pursuit started on Morton Street when Champagnie and Farley were on patrol in an unmarked car and pulled over a silver Hyundai Accent – which police later said was stolen – for a traffic stop on Morton Street. But after the officers got out of their car, the driver took off, the suit states.
Not long after, around 3 a.m., the car struck a pole and rolled over on Morrissey Boulevard.
The complaint alleges that reports written by the two officers contain numerous inconsistencies – there were no reports of stolen vehicles or robberies that would have warranted a traffic stop and none of the four teens were wearing the balaclavas the officers claimed. And when the sergeant came on the air to ask if the vehicle were wanted for just an auto-laws violation, rather than something more serious, the complaint says, Champagnie “confirmed this is true.”
Also, Coleman, in a separate, marked cruiser, “can be heard clearly” stating she was turning her cruiser around after their superior told them to call off the pursuit, but instead she followed the other officers “at a high rate of speed,” the suit continues.
The suit adds that even though the survivor of the crash told Winslow’s full name around 4:30 a.m., his parents, who had called police to did not learn of his death, even after contacting police, until a cop showed up at their door at 11 a.m. – to ask for their son’s dental records. That cop “left without offering any condolences.” Then, it continues, authorities refused their repeated requests to see their son’s body.
Immanuel Brooks’s parents raised similar issues:
Champagnie resigned as a BPD officer last August, “with charges pending,” the Winslow suit states.
The Winslow complaint formally charges the officers and BPD with negligence, negligent training and supervision, wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, violation of their son’s 4th Amendment right against unlawful search and seizure, violation of his civil rights, including to deu process and equal protection.
The Brooks complaint charges violations of his right to due process and against unreasonable search and seizure, state-created danger, wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering and loss of consortium. It also charges the city with failing to ensure its employees would be so wantonly out of control.