STUART, Fla. — A Stuart police officer involved in a police pursuit that ended in the death of an innocent driver has been cleared of all wrongdoing.
Police Chief Joseph Tumminelli told WPTV on Thursday he cleared the officer this week after an extensive internal investigation that found the officer was complying with his department's pursuit policy.
The incident happened at about 7:45 p.m. on April 18.
Tumminelli said one of his officers tried to pull over Jerauis Jean, 23, for a traffic violation when Jean sped off. Tumminelli said the officer pursued and a chase ensued, which ended at the intersection o Southeast Central Parkway and U.S. Highway 1, where Jean crashed his car into a Martin County transit bus.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, who took over the criminal investigation, the impact from Jean the crash sent the bus flying into a red BMW with a 76-year-old man and his 74-year-old passenger inside.
The 76-year-old driver was killed at the scene, while his female passenger was sent to the hospital with "incapacitating" injuries.
Tumminelli said the internal investigation revealed that traffic was light, the officer had lights and sirens on, and was only traveling an average of 53 mph at the time of the pursuit, all of which satisfy the conditions of the department's pursuit policy.
Before the completion of the internal investigation, Tumminelli told WPTV's Kate Hussey it's sometimes difficult for officers to decide whether to pursue a fleeing suspect or let the suspect go.
"Who is to say that individual is still not going to travel 80 miles an hour to crash into somebody? I mean, the individual is trying to get away from police," Tumminelli said. "If the officer had disengaged that pursuit, the same exact incident could have happened with the officer not behind him."
"I think it begs the question, is a traffic citation really worth the high-speed chase?" Hussey asked.
"It depends on the circumstances," Tumminelli said. "If you add some circumstances to it, what was he doing? You know, he's coming from an area where we've had some violent crime."
Tumminelli points to an incident less than a week after this chase when Martin County deputies pulled back from a high-speed pursuit in Jensen Beach to protect public safety.
Deputies said the suspect in that chase continued to drive 100 mph the wrong way on Interstate 95 near Becker Road even though no deputies were behind him.
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Chief Deputy John Budensiek told Hussey deputies had to then reengage in the pursuit after seeing the driver was speeding toward an active construction zone and could have hit the workers there.
"This [latest incident] kind of highlights how, when we follow our pursuit policies, that doesn't mean these criminals are just shutting it down also," Budensiek said at the time.
Still, Tumminelli said Thursday he's taking a second look at the Stuart Police Department's pursuit policy to see if adjustments need to be made to better protect the public — his No. 1 priority.
Budensiek told Hussey the Martin County Sheriff's Office is also looking at alternatives to ground pursuits while apprehending suspects. He said some of the alternatives being considered include helicopter pursuits and trucks to block the paths of fleeing vehicles.
WPTV is also working to obtain the names of the 76-year-old and 74-year-old victims involved in the April 18th crash.
FHP troopers are not releasing the names because the traffic homicide investigation is not complete. Lt. Indiana Miranda said the investigation could take up to 120 days.
