CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — The suspect accused of leading officers on a chase across two cites before crashing and killing another driver had a warrant out for his arrest, Cleveland Heights police said Thursday.
The department also pushed back on questions about whether pursuing officers followed department policy when they chose to continue the chase.
23-year-old Jalen Jackson is facing charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated murder, discharging a firearm, weapons under disability and a drug charge.
At a press conference one day after the pursuit and crash, Cleveland Heights police said Jackson had an active warrant out for his arrest from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office when he robbed an Amazon driver at gunpoint Wednesday night.
The driver called it in, sparking a police pursuit. Cleveland Heights Police Chief Chris Britton said one of his officers reported hearing two shots fired as they pursued the white enterprise van.
As the pursuit moved into nearby Cleveland, Cleveland Police assisted with their helicopter. A bystander caught part of the chase on camera as the van raced down Detroit Avenue and through a red light at West 25th Street.
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CHPD said officers continued to pursue when Jackson turned into oncoming traffic on I-90 eastbound. The chief said speeds reached up to 100 miles per hour.
Not long after the van slammed head on into a car, killing one man.
The medical examiner identified the innocent driver as 70-year-old Dr. Curtis Birchall from Akron. Birchall ran an anti-aging clinic in Rocky River.
“On behalf of myself and the city our condolences go out to the family and we feel for their loss,” Chief Britton said.
Mayor Kahlil Seren added, “Our primary thoughts are with the family of Dr. Birchall right now. We’ve been in contact with the family. I’ve reached out personally to express my condolences.”
After the crash, Britton said the suspect continued to run from them on foot. He didn’t get far and officers arrested him.
Some have questioned if officers made the correct decision in continuing to chase Jackson at such a high rate of speed.
"Stop the chase, just catch them some other day," one witness told 3News. "You will get them sooner or later, but stop the chase."
The department's 13-page vehicle pursuit policy says, in part that "vehicle pursuits expose innocent citizens, law enforcement officers and fleeing violators to risk of serious injury or death." It goes on to say that "as a general rule, officers should not pursue a vehicle driving the wrong way on a roadway, highway or freeway."
When pressed from reporters about why officers continued to pursue the van and whether it followed department policy, Seren and Britton wouldn't say.
"One of the things that we absolutely do not want to do is jump to any conclusions about this specific incident before taking a very close look at exactly what happened and then comparing that to the requirements of our policy and the considerations that are contained in that policy," Seren said.
"There’s several factors in the policy that give us guidance and relate to decisions to the pursuit," Britton added. "Again, I wasn’t there last night. I wasn’t the officer in charge, so I can’t say or speculate what his decision process was."
The city said they would be looking closely at their police and investigating whether it followed pursuit policy. Seren said the findings of their review would be made public.
Meanwhile, 3News reached out to Amazon for the company's reaction to one of its drivers being robbed at gunpoint.
“This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family of the motorist whose life was lost. We’re offering support to the delivery driver involved in this crime and assisting local law enforcement as they investigate," said Alisa Carroll, an Amazon spokesperson.
Amazon provided 3News with a list of steps the company takes to promote the safety of its drivers.
- Drivers should never make a delivery if they feel unsafe, but if an incident occurs or a driver reports feeling unsafe, we have a rigorous process in place to evaluate the incident and take action to prevent it from happening again.
- We provide 24/7 support for drivers on-the-road to help them make deliveries to customers. If something occurs that requires additional safety support, drivers can contact Amazon’s 24/7 Safety Helpline. In the rare case of emergencies, drivers are encouraged to call 911 immediately.
- Drivers receive de-escalation and safety training.
- Drivers are trained to never personally stop someone if they attempt to steal the delivery vehicle or packages.
- Drivers are reminded to lock their vehicles and take their keys with them while their making delivery.
- If customers ever have an issue with a delivery or package we encourage them to contact customer service 24/7 and we will help find a solution.
“Last night’s incident is a tragedy and, and while these crimes are rare across our network we continuously invest and will continue to invest in protecting drivers and community members, because even a single incident is one too many," Carroll added.
You can watch Thursday's Cleveland Heights briefing below: