Two bystanders were killed during LAPD high-speed chase. Chief now vows action

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday he would make public by week’s end dashcam and body camera videos from a police pursuit in which a fleeing motorist collided with another car, killing two people inside.

Family members, their attorney and activists last week accused the LAPD of covering up its role in the deaths of Janisha Harris, 35, and Jamarea Keyes, 38, after a police report revealed that two officers from the department’s 77th Street Station pursued that speeding motorist shortly before the deadly crash.

Harris and Keyes were on their way home from work on the morning of Aug. 19 when the speeding motorist ran a red light at Manchester Avenue and South Broadway in South Los Angeles and slammed into the side of their black BMW, killing the two.

Their families demanded the video evidence following LAPD denials that a pursuit had occurred before the crash.

“I have made the determination to release a critical incident video that is being compiled as we speak and will be released, I expect, by the end of the week,” Moore said. He added that it would include the police cruiser car camera, any body camera video from the officers, and available surveillance video.

Moore acknowledged that the police cruiser had given chase after seeing a speeding green Cadillac on Broadway, and an investigation is ongoing into the “officers’ actions leading up to and during the immediate aftermath of this collision as to their compliance to the department rules, regulations and policies.” The chief said the driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter while driving under the influence of marijuana.

A police spokesman had initially denied that the 77th Street station police car had initiated the pursuit. But The Times obtained a police report stating it was “determined that 77th Patrol Unit 12A51 was in pursuit of the vehicle at the time of the crash.”

LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz responded by saying, “the initial statement to media stated officers were not in pursuit. After further review, it was determined that the officers had gone in pursuit for 15 seconds. They shut down the pursuit before the collision. The suspect continued through a full phased red light, striking the victims.”

Moore did not describe the specifics of the pursuit. But multiple law enforcement sources told The Times the evidence gathered shows the police cruiser turned to give chase to the Cadillac, and the pursuit was much longer than 15 seconds before the deadly collision.

“The initial reports by the LAPD were there was no high-speed pursuit, but this report clearly shows they were engaged in pursuit at the time of the collision,” said Jasmine Mines, attorney for the victims’ families. “The LAPD is not allowed by its policies to conduct high-speed pursuits for minor infractions, but that is what seems to have happened here.”

Moore on Tuesday revealed for the first time that evidence gathered from inside the Cadillac had linked the men inside the vehicle to a Moorpark business where a burglary occurred that morning.

“Surveillance cameras had captured the image of the three individuals,” Moore said. “The currency and money bags recovered from the vehicle we believe match the items that were taken from this business.”