Two Jacksonville police crash into each other when chasing a teen suspect driving a stolen truck
By: Newly released body camera video shows what happened as police chased down a stolen truck driven by a teen driver in October, leading to two Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office cars crashing into each other, hitting a fence and hitting a civilian’s car.
The pursuit and crash happened on Thursday, Oct. 13 on Roosevelt Boulevard near Yacht Club Road. The body camera video captured the interior of one of the JSO vehicles, a K-9 Unit, that was involved in the crash.
The incident began just after 2 p.m., when detectives with JSO’s Gang Unit were patrolling in the Paxon area where they spotted a white Ford F-150 occupied by two people, both wearing full face masks.
The driving pattern of the truck also drew the attention of the officers, who ran the tag to discover it was stolen.
JSO made efforts to stop the truck at 12th Street West and Detroit Street. Unmarked detective cars turned their lights and sirens on for a “vehicle block” and the stolen truck “defeated” the block, which led to the pursuit.
The sound on the body camera video, which is about 12 minutes long, is turned on about 30 seconds in as the officer is driving. Sirens can be heard in the background and the pursuit is underway.
JSO radio chatter can be heard in the video, with the voice on the other end advising a “signal 0,” which typically means “armed and/or caution.” The stolen truck was first spotted in Zone 5 -- which includes Northwest, New Town and Baldwin -- and the officer driving indicates that he is headed into Zone 1, which includes Downtown, Springfield and Eastside. JSO has the city divided into 6 patrol zones.
The pursuit traveled south on I-95 towards I-10 and south on Roosevelt Blvd. The truck evaded police for 17 minutes and traveled eight miles, JSO said.
“The driver continued to drive in such an aggressive manner, placing all other vehicles on the roadway in immediate and clear danger,” according to the teen’s arrest report.
The voice over the radio advises the suspect is involved in a “Signal 10,” which means stolen vehicle. A request is made by the voice on the radio for stop sticks to stop the vehicle.
The officer driving asks that dispatch “alert Zone 3″ which includes Southside, Mandarin and San Marco, about the pursuit. He then says “Zone 4, Zone 4″ which includes Riverside, Avondale, Ortega and Westside.
Read: Two JSO Cruisers crash into each other, hits civilian car in chase on Roosevelt Blvd.
“HQ get some units with me, I’m the only one ... on Roosevelt heading towards Blanding,” the officer said. Other units join the pursuit.
“I’m gonna PIT him, I’ve got heavy front-end damage,” the officer said, referring to a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, maneuver. This tactic used by officers can force a fleeing car to turn sideways abruptly, causing the driver to lose control and stop.
The officer appears to strike the white stolen truck in an attempt to stop it, but the truck keeps going down Roosevelt.
Moments later, his vehicle collides with another JSO patrol car.
Deployed airbags can be seen on both JSO vehicles as the K-9 officer gets out of the car to check on the other officer.
That patrol vehicle had crashed into a nearby fence. The K-9 officer’s vehicle hit the black SUV head-on, JSO said.
On the video, the K-9 officer can be heard calling for an ambulance for the driver of the SUV. The officer then goes to check on his dog, taking him out of the car briefly and then putting him back in.
The driver of the black SUV was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Neither officer was taken to the hospital.
The suspect driving the white Ford F-150 continued south on Roosevelt Boulevard before crashing into a pole.
One of the suspects in the car was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A gun was recovered from inside the stolen truck, police said. Both the teen driver and the passenger were arrested, police said.