Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock defended his deputies’ actions and the departmentap pursuit policy following the death of two bystanders amid a high-speed chase on South Santa Fe Drive early Wednesday morning.
Spurlock said his officers followed protocol and he does not plan on revisiting the policy that has been in place since he took office more than five years ago.
“I believe that our policy is sound,” Spurlock said during a Thursday news briefing. “The officers were doing exactly what our policy allows them to do, and there was obviously enough radio traffic for the supervisor to determine the policy was still within play.”
During the press conference, Spurlock also released a portion of dash-cam video showing the pursuit that ended in the suspectap car, a Mitsubishi Lancer sedan, T-boning another vehicle at the intersection of South Santa Fe Drive and West Mineral Avenue, killing two people inside the other car. The victims were later identified by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office as Jayne Frances Davicsin, 25, and Ryan Scott Carter, 27.
The suspect, identified as 20-year-old Deanna May Bixby, was seriously injured in the crash but was taken into custody on three active warrants as well as pending charges related to Wednesday’s incident. Authorities are still looking for the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee, who Spurlock said was the target of the original pursuit but eluded capture. Authorities later found the Jeep abandoned.
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