By Brendan Nordstrom

Source Baltimore Sun

The Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division identified the victim of a  June 9 fatal police pursuit in Belcamp as 45-year-old Tremayne Murphy, of Edgewood, in a Friday news release, which also included dashcam and body-worn camera footage of the collision.

The 96-second pursuit ended after the driver, identified as Murphy, attempted to drive through the intersection of Route 40 and Route 543. Murphy collided with four other vehicles, and he died while trapped inside his vehicle, according to the release.

Harford deputies began the pursuit after they spotted Murphy allegedly taking part in a drug transaction on Meadowood Drive in Edgewood, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said during a news conference in June.

The dashcam footage begins as Harford County Sheriff’s Deputy Allen Jennings trails Murphy in an attempted traffic stop. In the footage, the deputy says the suspect is “slow to stop” before he says he “might not be stopping.”

The driver then speeds up and eventually uses the shoulder to drive away from the deputy. The vehicle is seen weaving through vehicles in the distance.

About 1 mile down the road — roughly one minute later — the deputy reaches the intersection, where Murphy’s vehicle had collided with several other uninvolved vehicles.

Jennings then helps a man, who says he is injured, out of his van with the airbags deployed. The hectic scene involves someone screaming “He’s burning,” as flames roar out of Murphy’s vehicle.

The deputy says he believes Murphy is trapped in his vehicle. As the video continues, black smoke begins billowing from the site of the collision. The deputy then unsuccessfully attempts to extinguish the fire, and the video ends when a fire truck arrives on the scene.

Gahler said in June that the deputies were involved in “good, proactive policing” by deciding to pursue the suspect following the alleged drug transaction.

Harford County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Cristie Hopkins wrote that the office cannot discuss the factors or information that led to the chase, in a June statement to The Aegis.

“It is still early in the related drug investigation for us to discuss the specific factors that led deputies to believe immediate action was necessary,” Hopkins wrote. “That said, when deputies determine that an individual may pose a threat to the community, they have a sworn duty to act.”

However, Hopkins wrote that the Sheriff’s Office is “monitoring” the nationwide debate about police pursuits in light of the fatal crash: “There is always a careful balance to consider when removing a law enforcement tool from our deputies’ toolbox.”

The Independent Investigations Division is still investigating the incident and will decide whether to pursue charges. The IID will publicly release a report within 30 days of the investigation’s conclusion.

The death has parallels to a January fatal crash in Howard County, where a teenager died after failing to stop for an unmarked police vehicle on Route 32. The Attorney General’s Office declined to file charges against the officer involved in the pursuit.

In Harford County last summer, Juan Manzueta fled from police in a rental truck after stealing cooking oil from an Aberdeen Applebee’s in a 36-minute pursuit that ended after Manzueta struck a deputy and six vehicles. Manzueta was sentenced in May to life in prison, suspending all but 40 years.

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