Police chase from Clinton, MS into Jackson, MS leaves 1 dead

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Lonnie Blue, 34, a father, worked at the Nissan plant. Blue, originally of Brookhaven, was killed late Monday during the course of a police pursuit. But Blue wasn't the one running from police. He was an innocent bystander.


Donnell Williams Johnson, 28, Ashley Travis, 23, and James Williams, 35, are in custody after allegedly shoplifting computer equipment at the Wal-Mart on U.S. 80 and leading police on a high-speed chase from Clinton to Capitol Street and Tennessee Avenue. Police say Johnson was driving the vehicle, which had switched tags, when the accident occurred at 11:51 p.m.

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Mike Gill, Clinton's interim police chief, said in a press conference Tuesday morning that his officers attempted to stop the suspected shoplifters' vehicle as they left the Walmart parking lot. The vehicle did not yield to blue lights, and officers pursued the suspects into Jackson, Gill said.

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Referencing the chase, Gill said, "Our officers followed existing state law while doing that."

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Clinton police notified Jackson police of the ongoing chase, and JPD responded and assisted, Gill said.

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Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance said to his knowledge, JPD was not notified until after the crash occurred and his officers were not involved in the pursuit. "That is absolutely untrue from my knowledge. I’ve already talked with dispatch supervisors and the sergeant that was on duty, the only notification we got was after the crash," Vance said. "We by no means participated in this pursuit. I’ve been vocal about my opposition of chasing suspects in the the city of Jackson on misdemeanor or property crimes."

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Dash-cam video sent to The Clarion-Ledger from the city of Clinton shows a responding officer asking dispatchers if JPD has been notified, and the dispatcher replies that they have. Less than a minute later, he passes a JPD car on the left with its lights on. After the dispatcher calls to officers that the tag comes back switched, a JPD car passes the Clinton police car.

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Officials said it appeared that Johnson swerved into the oncoming lane and hit Blue head-on with no other provocation. Gill said he did not know the speed of the chase but "our officers were backing off. They were a few hundred feet away from the vehicle that caused the wreck. They were talking, they were discussing, breaking off the pursuit at that time."

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On Tuesday, Stokes said the city of Clinton should pay the Blue family $100 million in damages, and he once more accused police of racism. Stokes maintains that if Jackson had a white mayor and a white police chief, that surrounding jurisdictions would not pursue fleeing suspects into the city. Stokes also accuses the officers involved in the chase of "murdering" Blue. Gill said charges could be brought against Johnson in Blue's death if JPD or Hinds County decided to press them.

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Johnson has six outstanding tickets — four from the Ridgeland Police Department and two from the Mississippi Highway Patrol. He did not have a driver’s license. In 2013 Johnson was convicted of four counts of auto burglary and sentenced to seven years with three years suspended and three years' probation, according to the Clinton Police Department.

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