AURORA | Two unidentified people were killed Friday morning in Aurora after crashing a stolen vehicle while evading Aurora officers, police officials said.
Police said the chase began at about 11:30 a.m. after the city’s “Real Time” information center, using Flock cameras and license plate readers, alerted officers to a potentially stolen car in west-central Aurora, according to Aurora Police Commander Justin Shipley.
Within minutes, police at the Real Time center were able to determine the car had been stolen from Fort Collins two days ago, he said.
The contacted patrol officers, who spotted the car and attempted to pull the driver over near East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street, but the driver sped away in an attempt to evade police.
The driver sped north on Peoria Street, and police chased the car for “less than a minute,” Shipley said.
The driver lost control of the car while trying to turn left from Peoria to East Alameda Avenue, crashing into a light pole.
Both the driver and a passenger were killed in the crash, Shipley said,
“The suspect failed to yield our officers’ traffic stop and made the decision to flee and drive erratically,” Shipley said, adding that officers struggled to keep up safely because of the vehicle’s speed and driving behavior.
Aurora just this year changed department policy, allowing police to employ car pursuits of people suspected of crimes, including potentially stolen cars.
The decision counters numerous police experts and several police organizations insisting that police pursuits in cars endanger the public, officers and suspects and should not be used except in extreme circumstances.
The Denver Post last month reported that police chases in Aurora spiked since the policy changed this year. The pursuits have been linked to an increase in injuries, according to police reports.
Aurora police say they have entered a new phase in technology-driven policing, combining years of cameras, license-plate readers and data tools with a full real-time operations center that now includes drones deployed directly to 911 calls.
The department, which quietly piloted the Real Time system over the past year, said the integration of all its surveillance tools with human analysts working live has already transformed investigations, sped up arrests and contributed to drops in crime.
The department already had many of the tools implemented in the Real Time Center. They include nearly 100 flock cameras, a drone, and multiple license plate readers. That, combined with 911 calls, alerts, crime reports, and incident data have created a space where analysts can view and work on crime as it unfolds.
A drone was not used in this incident, Shipley said.
The department’s traffic unit is investigating the crash. An internal review will also be conducted, Shipley said.
East Alameda Avenue and South Peoria Street remained closed in all directions following the crash.
Were the alleged car thieves wearing seatbelts?
Or is one not allowed to ask such questions?
Glad thathey will not be stealing anyonelse’s vehicles.
Thank you, Aurora Police.
I think they should issue a ticket for ‘failure to engage seatbelts’ and mail it to the ‘suspect’s’ family. These people had no respect for the innocent people they may have injured or killed while they fled police. Good riddance, I say.
Only the Sentinel would put these two deaths on APD.
Absolutely disgusting.
Police chase stolen cars and then pit them not even caring where they do it causing the public damage or even death to innocent people and then destroying the cars so what have they accomplished? They should never chase motorcycles unless it is for a murder or such!!!!!!!