Deadly chase puts GSP pursuit policy back in spotlight
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A Georgia State Patrol vehicle sits parked outside State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
A fatal crash in Atlanta's Little Five Points neighborhood stemming from the pursuit of a vehicle by a Georgia State Patrol trooper has reignited conversations about the agency's chase policy.
Why it matters: While the Atlanta Police Department has some guardrails on its own chase policy, the state patrol has a broader protocol that allows sworn troopers to make a "reasonable determination" on whether to start or end a chase.
Driving the news: 19-year-old Cooper Schoenke, a DeKalb County resident, was killed Monday when a car being pursued by a state trooper collided with his vehicle on Moreland Avenue, the Georgia State Patrol told Axios in a statement.
Catch up quick: The chase began just before 8pm on I-20 East when the trooper, who the agency has not named, attempted to pull over a Chevrolet Equinox that was speeding and making "erratic and reckless" lane changes, the state patrol said.
- The driver, 23-year-old Faduma Mohamed of Stone Mountain, fled and exited the interstate at the Moreland Avenue interchange.
- The chase continued north up Moreland, ending when Mohamed struck Schoenke's Honda Accord at the McLendon Avenue intersection, the agency said. Schoenke was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
- Mohamed was charged with murder, vehicular homicide in the first degree and other traffic and drug offenses.
State of play: The investigation into the collision is still active, per the state patrol, and the Department of Public Safety Office of Professional Standards is also looking into the incident.
The big picture: The pursuit and fatal collision is part of a larger issue Little Five Points has faced over the years: "people driving too fast and carelessly through our neighborhood," Kelly Stocks, president of the Little 5 Points Historic Cultural District and vice president of the Little 5 Points Business Association, told Axios.
- A local business owner created an Instagram account that shows how dangerous it is for people to cross the street at her storefront.
What they're saying: Residents have "repeatedly seen in Atlanta how high speed chases by Georgia State Patrol result in the death of innocent bystanders," Lauren Welsh, executive director of the Little 5 Points Alliance, told Axios in a statement.
- "This was a traffic violation on the highway that led to a high speed chase on Moreland Avenue into the heart of Little 5 Points, and now an innocent driver is dead," she said, adding she hopes the city will reach out to the state to "find out how we can change this kind of practice."
Friction point: The state patrol's pursuit practices have come under scrutiny over the years and were the subject of an AJC investigation published last year.
- According to the AJC, state troopers were involved in more than 6,700 vehicle pursuits between 2019 and 2023, and more than half ended in crashes that caused injuries and deaths.
- More than 1,900 people were injured in crashes involving GSP chases and 63 killed during that time.
Context: A report released in 2023 by the Police Executive Research Forum suggested agencies enact stricter guidelines on when to engage in pursuits due to the rise in fatalities reported during the pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
- Atlanta police in 2021 changed its no-chase policy to allow officers to pursue vehicles with a supervisor's OK if they know a suspect has committed certain felonies or that their escape poses a danger to the public.
- "Others just say the juice isn't worth the squeeze," said Dean Dabney, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Georgia State University.