and CAL

BEVERLY

editor@The CitizenNews.com

When Luthersville police officers

chased a suspect through Peachtree City at speeds over 100 mph July 27,

city police officers blocked major intersections to try to make sure no

innocent bystanders were hurt, according to Chief James Murray.

While many in the public have

lauded those actions, representatives of other police agencies have complained

that Peachtree City units should have done more to stop the suspect, said

Murray Tuesday.

Some law enforcement officials

in off-the-record comments were less complimentary of Murray's no-chase

policy. A dispatcher for the countywide 911 center writes in a letter

in this issue that one of Murray's policies prevented his officers from

even knowing a chase was coming their way.

"An off-duty Peachtree

City officer who heard the chase on his personal scanner" used his

city walkie-talkie to notify on-duty officers that a chase was headed

for the city, according to Nicole Grizzell, a 911 dispatcher for Fayette

County.

"Chief Murray will not

allow his own officers to have scanners in their police cars," Grizzell

said in her letter on Page 5A. "He will also not put a state-band

radio channel in their police cars. Doing so would allow his officers

to communicate with other agencies, which is often needed at times. His

officers cannot even talk to Fayetteville [Police Department] via radio

if necessary."

Murray agreed that not all

city patrol cars have state band radio channels in them. But, Murray said,

watch commanders have access to the state band radio in their vehicles,

and the radio channel is largely used for administrative purposes such

as coordinating funeral escorts.

It's true that the department

was notified of the chase by an off-duty officer who overheard the Luthersville

pursuit on his scanner while reporting to an off-duty job in the city,

Murray said. But at about the same time, the police department was notified

of the pursuit by Fayette County 911 dispatchers, Murray added.

"We don't need them (the

state band radios) in every car, just the supervisor's car," Murray

said, explaining that it's the watch commander's job to coordinate where

officers respond to incidents like this. "It's so unusual that we

need it."

Because of this particular

incident, however, the department may consider equipping sergeants' squad

cars to receive the state band radio frequency, Murray said.

Murray also is staunch in defending

the actions of his department that Saturday. "You don't chase them

at all costs," Murray said. "... Our watch commander, Lt. John

Anderegg, did an outstanding job in deciding to protect anybody from getting

run over when it came through."

The pursuit ended with a collision

that killed an innocent motorist just outside the eastern Peachtree City

limits. Charles Vicha, 41, of Peachtree City died instantly after the

Ford Explorer driven by Loraine McCrary of Jonesboro struck his minivan

on the driver's side door.

Grizzell said more people might

have been killed had it not been for the actions of Corporal Samuel F.

Smith. "He called in the chase just in time for the Ga. highway 54-74

intersection to be blocked," Grizzell wrote. "Luckily he was

driving through the city on his off-day."

Because of the danger to other

traffic on Ga. Highway 54, Peachtree City officers were unable to use

"stop sticks" to disable the speeding vehicle driven by McCrary,

Murray said. Each Peachtree City officer has the stop sticks a strip of

tire-puncturing spikes in their patrol car, but they must be used with

caution in a controlled environment, Murray said.

The stop sticks are designed

to puncture the tires of a suspect's vehicle so they slowly deflate and

cause the vehicle to slow down dramatically.

"What if she would have

lost control and jumped over the median and hit an oncoming vehicle?"

Murray said. "... There was potential for a very dangerous situation

to happen."

The department's policy does

not totally forbid chases but requires officers to follow behind at safe

speeds in case they need to render assistance, Murray said. Also, the

watch commander on duty can call off the pursuit if necessary, the chief

added.

McCrary, who faces multiple

charges of identity fraud, was in stable condition at Grady Hospital Tuesday

afternoon as she recovered from injuries sustained in the wreck, according

to a hospital spokesperson. Three children were also in McCrary's vehicle

when it wrecked; the most seriously injured child, Tonisha Millens, was

in good condition at Scottish Rite Hospital of Children's Healthcare of

Atlanta Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokesperson. The other two

children were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital

the same evening as the crash.

Murray last week wrote well-publicized

letters to Gov. Roy Barnes and President George W. Bush asking them to

help stop high-speed police chases.

"I wonder if Gov. Barnes

knows about Murray's lack of support for using a statewide radio channel,"

Grizzell wrote in her letter.

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