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Defense attorney questions if Hammond-to-Walker police chase was justified
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WALKER — A Hammond Police chase that crossed parish lines and ended with a patrol car colliding with a motorcycle is now drawing scrutiny from a defense attorney over whether the pursuit was justified.
Dash cam video from the chase shows the motorcyclist weaving in and out of traffic. Police identified the man on the bike as Elroy Duncan.
According to police, officers initially tried to pull Duncan over for driving erratically and not wearing a helmet. The chase went from Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish to Walker in Livingston Parish.
At the end of the chase, a Hammond police officer's car struck Duncan. After his motorcycle was hit, Duncan took off running and was apprehended at a Dollar General near the intersection of Walker North Road and Ball Park Road.
Attorney Jill Craft explained that officers can chase suspects across jurisdictional lines, but there must be a real reason, and the person being chased must pose a real threat to the public.
"The pursuit itself has to be justified by something overwhelming,” Craft said.
Craft is not convinced, based on the evidence made public so far, that this chase was justified.
"It's obviously a residential area. I mean, they're putting lives in danger for a traffic stop," Craft said.
James Mallard, a neighbor who lives a few houses down from where it happened, said the situation put people at risk.
"It put a lot of people at risk, especially right here on Walker North," Mallard said.
Mallard said because children often play in the neighborhood front yards, he's glad no one else was hurt.
"It could have killed somebody in their own yard," Mallard said.
Hammond Police Chief Edwin Bergeron said his team followed departmental rules on chases.
"I am thoroughly pleased with our response," Bergeron said.
Bergeron said he watched dash cam video from the police truck that collided with the motorcyclist.
"The subject on the motorcycle was riding in the grassy area. My officer was paralleling him, and he turned in front of my officer," Bergeron said.
Retired Florida detective Chip Deblock, who now hosts a podcast discussing issues from a police perspective, said the key question in any chase comes down to risk. "The most important thing is to make sure that the need to apprehend the 'bad guy' is not outweighed by the risk to the public," Deblock said.
"Without knowing what was going through the officer's mind at the time, they may have had a growing concern because it was going into a residential community that they wanted to get this guy to stop speeding," Deblock said.
WBRZ reached out to Duncan for comment, but he did not respond in time for publication.
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