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It happened four times between Feb. 1 and March 21 of this year 鈥� a police pursuit of someone who ran from authorities ended with someone dying in Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland. Flanked by grieving relatives of one such victim, Prince George鈥檚 County Council member Krystal Oriadha introduced a new bill she hopes will stop that from happening again.
Dubbed 鈥淶oey鈥檚 Law,鈥� the measure is named after 3-year-old Zoey Harrison, who was riding in a car that was from District Heights and Capitol Heights police officers.
If passed, the bill would codify into law that police officers must cut off a chase unless it鈥檚 believed the driver committed a felony or violent misdemeanor, or that the person poses an imminent threat of death or serious injury to someone.
While it is a guideline that Prince George鈥檚 County police officers already abide by, municipal departments don鈥檛 all have the same restriction.
鈥淲e have to ask ourselves, what can we do to ensure that this never happens again?鈥� Oriadha said.
Harrison’s family, including her siblings, parents, grandmother and other extended family members, joined Oriadha at a news conference Tuesday in Largo, Virginia. Those who spoke found it difficult not to break down and cry.
鈥淶oey lit up the room,鈥� said Tanishia Harrison, the 3-year-old鈥檚 mother. 鈥淪he was full of life, full of love, and she had this way of making everyone around her smile. Her laughter was like medicine.”
鈥淲hat happened that day shattered our family. There’s no other way to say it,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e don’t wake up the same no more. We don’t go to sleep the same.鈥�
Tanishia said in no way was the aim of the legislation to keep police officers from doing their jobs. Oriadha and Zoey’s family agreed the blame for the child’s death rests on the driver who fled from police 鈥� a driver who has yet to be charged.
For Oriadha, it鈥檚 about taking an internal policy that already exists for some officers and turning it into law. And she said she鈥檚 hoping municipalities will buy in and adopt the policy that county police already follow.
鈥淭his is not a 鈥榤aybe it could happen.鈥� This is not a 鈥榳hat if it possibly happens,鈥欌�� Oriadha said. 鈥淲e are living right now through multiple tragic incidents where this has happened.鈥�
That crash, and the pursuit that led to it, remain under investigation by the Maryland Attorney General鈥檚 Office of Independent Investigations.聽
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