ORLANDO, Fla. — Reggie Brooks has a lot of questions about why Orlando Police chose to chase a man down an Orlando street following a traffic stop last week.“If they would have called off the chase Gerald would have still been living,” Brooks told WFTV.
The Orlando police chief has questions too, and that’s why there is an investigation underway. An officer has been removed from duty as they look into this pursuit.
The Florida Highway Patrol trooper said 56-year-old Gerald Neal was on the side of the road when Dornell Bargnare lost control of his car while on the run from police. Both Bargnare’s car and an unmarked Orlando police vehicle hit Neal.
Surveillance video shows Bargnare taking off through the neighborhood before he was caught.
We don’t know yet what alleged violation or crime started it all. So far OPD has only stated this started with a traffic stop.
The Orlando police chief told WFTV on Tuesday night that officers have made 150,000 traffic stops in the last 3 years. 4,000 people took off and we were not chased.
“So, if you take 150,000 traffic stops that we do, 4000 people ran away. If somebody runs from you on a traffic stop, you are pulled over and turn the other way,” Chief Eric Smith said. “So we have good policies on that.”
Orlando police policy said a vehicle chase is allowed when the need to catch a suspect outweighs the danger of a pursuit. It specifies officers can initiate a chase when they suspect the person committed a forcible felony, including serious crimes like murder or kidnapping.
New documents show that the detective attempted to conduct that traffic stop for an unreadable license plate.
The detective was using his lights and sirens in his unmarked ford F150, but Bargnare failed to stop and the detective followed.
Another deadly pursuit near the Amway Center in 2023 had Orlando police disciplining an officer for violating that policy and two years later one other pursuit was under review. Still, it’s too early to tell if changes need to be made.
“We look at if we need to change something, we will definitely change something,” Smith said.
Police have not named the officer yet.
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