Why no inquest? ACLU questions coroner's decision in police high-speed pusuit death

[Bluebear]

The ACLU is questioning a decision by the coroner not to hold an inquest for two officers involved in a high speed pursuit that ended in a deadly crash.

Police were chasing a driver who appeared to be under the influence. As it turns out, the driver, Ivan Carillo, was in fact high on meth.

When police chased Carillo last May, they were trying to get him to pull over and at one time even attempted a pit-maneuver to stop him.

Nothing worked until, finally, the pursuit ended with a crash. The collision involved five cars, including Carillo’s Honda Civic and a police cruiser. Carillo was killed....

According to the accident report filed by Metro, contact was made between the patrol vehicle and the Civic, which led to the fatal crash. For this reason, says the ACLU, there needs to be a Coroner’s Inquest to determine whether the police action was appropriate. “Under the County Code, when an officer is involved in a death, which certainly one officer - perhaps two - were involved in this death, they're supposed to go through the Coroner's inquest,” says Maggie McLetchie, ACLU staff attorney...

Ironically, (the police department had) recommended criminal charges against the two officers involved in the pursuit on the grounds that both reportedly ignored a sergeant’s commands to stop chasing the driver.

http://www.mynews3.com/story.php?id=26824&n=5035