WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV is learning new details surrounding the arrest of seven West Palm Beach police officers in connection with a crash in Boynton Beach that killed two women last year.
The arrests come almost a year after police said Neoni Copeland of Boynton Beach, 23 years old at the time of the crash, was speeding away from officers of the West Palm Beach Police Department when he crashed into another vehicle on North Congress Avenue on July 30, 2024.
Inside the vehicle was Marcia Pochette, 57, and her pregnant daughter, Jenice Woods, 27. Both died as a result of the wreck.
WATCH: Officers accused of driving 119 mph in chase
According to the arrest documents, the incident started when six West Palm Beach officers, five of whom were part of the Gang and Habitual Offender Suppression Team (GHOST), were conducting an arrest for an armed robbery.
The five GHOST officers were Michael Borgen, William Loayza, Pierre Etienne, Christopher Rekdahl and Darien Thomas.
At the same time, the six officers were on the lookout for a driver in a gray Kia Stinger, identified as Copeland, whom they wanted to interview about a separate incident.
One of the GHOST officers radioed that the Kia was at 45th Street and Australian Avenue, according to arrest documents. The officer who was not part of GHOST, along with an unmarked police pickup truck driven by Rekdahl with Borgen and Thomas as passengers, drove to that intersection and stopped behind the Kia. The Kia fled, ignoring their attempt to stop it.
The arrest report said the officer who was not part of GHOST said he did not pursue Copeland further because it would have violated the department's policy, but Rekdahl continued to follow the Kia.
At the time, Officer Austin Danielovich was in the area of Palm Beach Lakes and Australian Avenue in a marked SUV with Officer Brandan Stedfelt when they saw the truck following the Kia and decided to join the pursuit. Danielovich and Stedfelt were assigned to the Bike Unit, and these officers do not usually answer routine calls for service.
GHOST officer Etienne joined the pursuit with officer Loayza in the passenger seat.
West Palm Beach
WPTV looks into pursuit policy allegedly violated by 7 officers
According to data pulled from one of the vehicle's location systems, investigators said the chase started at 7:59 p.m. at 25th Street and Australian Avenue, went south to Okeechobee Boulevard onto I-95, then southbound to the Lantana Road exit. It concluded at the intersection of Lantana Road and Congress Avenue, where the collision between Copeland and the vehicle occupied by Pochette and Woods occurred at around 8:09 p.m.
Boynton Beach police officers responded to the wreck minutes later while the two women were still trapped in their vehicle.
Investigators said Copeland ran from the scene and was caught by police about 10 minutes later. According to court documents, Copeland said he was fleeing because he was being chased by West Palm Beach police.
Video footage from businesses near the surrounding roadways showed the officers fleeing the scene immediately after the fatal wreck, according to the investigation. The arrest affidavit said none of the officers exited their vehicles to check on the crash victims and render aid, and none of them notified emergency personnel.
The arrest report said that all three of the police vehicles returned to West Palm Beach after the crash.
According to court documents, the West Palm Beach lieutenant on duty that night was not aware of the incident until almost three hours later because none of the officers told their supervisor about the incident. The lieutenant was made aware of the accident after getting a call from a West Palm Beach police sergeant, who got a call from a Boynton Beach police captain.
Investigators said one of the police cars involved in the chase was equipped with a vehicle location system and pinpointed the excessive speeds during the chase, including 119 mph on I-95 South, 98 mph westbound on Lantana Road at the edge of Lake Osborne and 103 mph on I-95 North (after the crash).
Additionally, none of the officers had activated their body cameras during the pursuit.
The drivers of the three vehicles— Austin Danielovich, Pierre Etienne and Christopher Rekdahl— are facing two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a first-degree felony, and one count of official misconduct, a third-degree felony.
The four passengers — Michael Borgen, William Loayza, Brandan Stedfelt and Darien Thomas — all face one count of official misconduct.
West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James released the following statement after the arrests:
"Today, we've learned of the arrest of seven of our police officers. We take even the appearance of injustice seriously and grieve with those affected by this incident. I remain committed to the safety of every resident, employee, and visitor in this city. There are no days off to ensure public safety and transparency. Public safety is priority number one."
Family responds to arrests
WPTV's Ethan Stein was in court Thursday morning, and he spoke with Junel Pochette, who lost his wife, Marcia, and his daughter, Jenice, in the July crash.
He said he blamed police officers for their death because he believes the high-speed chase from West Palm Beach to Boynton Beach was unnecessary.
“It’s sad,” Pochette told Stein. “The police are assigned for help and protection. But they destroyed my family.”
Pochette said he’s also frustrated police didn’t stop to help his family members in the crash. His attorney, Scott Smith, said the GPS records showing officers drove next to the crashed car, then traveled at over 100 mph back to West Palm Beach, is evidence the officers knew they made a mistake.
WATCH: Junel Pochette and family push for justice
“More likely than not, they knew at that time, we really, really messed up,” said Smith.
Priscilla Woods, who was Woods’ mother-in-law, said she believes the officers should get jail time and never work in law enforcement ever again.
“We never know what could have happened if they stopped to check for a pulse,” she said. “…But they left the scene, recklessly driving.”
Pochette told WPTV’s Ethan Stein on Wednesday the hardest part over the last 11 months has been walking into an empty house from work or looking at pictures of Woods or his wife. He said he also hopes the officers get jail time and never work in law enforcement again.
“It’s been rough, man. It’s been like the most crucial year and I sleep less,” Pochette said on the phone Wednesday night. “I just hope that the justice will come from this [case].”
Pochette expressed these same concerns to a judge on Thursday before each officer had his bond hearing.
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