March 5, 2018 Prosecutors have charged two Detroit police officers with willful neglect of duty following an October cover-up of a deadly high-speed chase.
Stephen Heid, 26, and Ronald Cadez, 28, were arraigned Monday in 36th District Court in Detroit, where they received $5,000 personal bonds. Their pretrial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 26 before Judge Roberta Archer.
The special operations officers were suspended in early October after it was discovered that they had failed to disclose that they'd engaged in a high-speed chase that resulted in the death of Detroit teen Jerry Bradford Jr.
On Oct. 9, Bradford Jr., 19, was driving a silver Pontiac Grand Prix on the city's east side at around 10:40 p.m. when he crashed into a 1998 Mercury Marquis and then into a tree and died.
The officers' original account stated that police attempted to pull Bradford over earlier in the night when he didn't stop, they "did not give chase" and then "a time later" they happened upon Bradford's wrecked car.
The following day, however, it was discovered that he was being pursued by Heid and Cadez in a high-speed chase that the officers not only failed to divulge but that broke many of the department's protocols. Detroit police are specifically prohibited from chasing suspects unless theyre suspected of a violent felony.
"This was a total disregard for our pursuit policy," Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at an Oct. 11 news conference announcing the officers' suspension.
At the fall press event, Craig explained the incident came to his attention after he received a sparsely detailed briefing of the fatal crash. "Candidly, I was extremely frustrated and my direction was, I need to get to the bottom of this very quickly," he said at the time. He decided to view the dash cam from that night
Craig said he suspended the officers with pay shortly after reviewing the tape. Their pay was later stopped. Both Heid and Cadez joined the department three years ago and were assigned to special operations.
Craig said there didn't appear to be an initial reason for the officers to stop the car.
"At the point of first observing the Grand Prix, there was no indication of a traffic violation," he said, explaining that while officers can investigate based on a hunch they never got close enough to the car to run its plates.
Based on the video, Craig said that as the officers sped up behind the Grand Prix to read its plate, the Grand Prix began to go faster, at which point the officers also accelerated, initiating a high-speed chase that defies policy even if Bradford was breaking the law by speeding.
According to DPD policy, officers can investigate suspicious behavior, but if a suspect decided to evade the police and is not suspected of a violent felony the officers cannot pursue them.
Heid and Cadez accelerated to as fast as 75 mph in a residential zone during the chase. Additionally, for the beginning portion of the chase, they did not activate their lights.
After the crash, the officers drove away from the accident, returning about three minutes after the incident was called in. This, according to Craig, goes against the official responsibilities of officers to ensure public safety. When the officers returned to the scene, Bradford was dead. The passenger in the car that he struck a 67-year-old man was taken to a hospital for a non-threatening emergency.
The incident happened in the same 9th Precinct where Michigan State Police officers engaged in a high-speed chase of 15-year-old Damon Grimes, who ultimately fatally crashed the ATV bike he was riding after a trooper shot him with a Taser.
After the Grimes case, State Police announced that they were prohibiting troopers from engaging in vehicle pursuits involving misdemeanors and traffic violations a move that placed their protocols more in line with Detroit police.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...oit/395877002/
Stephen Heid, 26, and Ronald Cadez, 28, were arraigned Monday in 36th District Court in Detroit, where they received $5,000 personal bonds. Their pretrial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 26 before Judge Roberta Archer.
The special operations officers were suspended in early October after it was discovered that they had failed to disclose that they'd engaged in a high-speed chase that resulted in the death of Detroit teen Jerry Bradford Jr.
On Oct. 9, Bradford Jr., 19, was driving a silver Pontiac Grand Prix on the city's east side at around 10:40 p.m. when he crashed into a 1998 Mercury Marquis and then into a tree and died.
The officers' original account stated that police attempted to pull Bradford over earlier in the night when he didn't stop, they "did not give chase" and then "a time later" they happened upon Bradford's wrecked car.
The following day, however, it was discovered that he was being pursued by Heid and Cadez in a high-speed chase that the officers not only failed to divulge but that broke many of the department's protocols. Detroit police are specifically prohibited from chasing suspects unless theyre suspected of a violent felony.
"This was a total disregard for our pursuit policy," Detroit Police Chief James Craig said at an Oct. 11 news conference announcing the officers' suspension.
At the fall press event, Craig explained the incident came to his attention after he received a sparsely detailed briefing of the fatal crash. "Candidly, I was extremely frustrated and my direction was, I need to get to the bottom of this very quickly," he said at the time. He decided to view the dash cam from that night
Craig said he suspended the officers with pay shortly after reviewing the tape. Their pay was later stopped. Both Heid and Cadez joined the department three years ago and were assigned to special operations.
Craig said there didn't appear to be an initial reason for the officers to stop the car.
"At the point of first observing the Grand Prix, there was no indication of a traffic violation," he said, explaining that while officers can investigate based on a hunch they never got close enough to the car to run its plates.
Based on the video, Craig said that as the officers sped up behind the Grand Prix to read its plate, the Grand Prix began to go faster, at which point the officers also accelerated, initiating a high-speed chase that defies policy even if Bradford was breaking the law by speeding.
According to DPD policy, officers can investigate suspicious behavior, but if a suspect decided to evade the police and is not suspected of a violent felony the officers cannot pursue them.
Heid and Cadez accelerated to as fast as 75 mph in a residential zone during the chase. Additionally, for the beginning portion of the chase, they did not activate their lights.
After the crash, the officers drove away from the accident, returning about three minutes after the incident was called in. This, according to Craig, goes against the official responsibilities of officers to ensure public safety. When the officers returned to the scene, Bradford was dead. The passenger in the car that he struck a 67-year-old man was taken to a hospital for a non-threatening emergency.
The incident happened in the same 9th Precinct where Michigan State Police officers engaged in a high-speed chase of 15-year-old Damon Grimes, who ultimately fatally crashed the ATV bike he was riding after a trooper shot him with a Taser.
After the Grimes case, State Police announced that they were prohibiting troopers from engaging in vehicle pursuits involving misdemeanors and traffic violations a move that placed their protocols more in line with Detroit police.
https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...oit/395877002/