Sheriff stands by chase

There goes the tax payers money! Once again. I hope Lauras family sues. Sounds like a officer with a GED got a head too big and decided to take matters into his own hands.

A high speed chase for a red light violation ???? Even the folks at Georgia Regional would have more brains than that. By the way, one can hear the radio over a siren by using that little device known as a volume control knob. DUH.

I think people are putting the blame on the wrong one. The officer was only doing his job. Two 19 year old boys that are doped up on marijuana and other various drugs who decide to take off and run from police after they have been pulled over...they seem to me like the ones who are at fault. They made the decision to flee. They should also have to deal with the consequences.

To fedupwithaug hit the road jack and don't come back and to
common-sense-justice, you probably know first hand what folks
at georgia regional think.

To fedupwithaug hit the road jack and don't come back and to
common-sense-justice, you probably know first hand what folks
at georgia regional think.

Some pretty shallow "thinking" lays the blame on the officer, in retrospect. Second guessing is for the petty. This tragedy is the potential in any chase. Some feel no chases are the right thing. All of us feel no chases would be the ideal situation. So would no running.

People / Civilians are very quick to pass judgement and criticize any Deputy /Law Enforcement Officer when incidents of this nature occur. The Augusta Chronicle is the primary reason this happens, due to the fact that they write these articles with pieces and parts of the entire situation. They print these articles in this manner on purpose so it will draw more attention to the subject, which in turn sales more issues of their paper. Tim Cox (the name at the bottom of this article), was not given, nor did he have all of the facts from this incident prior to this pieced together, partial truth script, that has been published. It goes far beyond chasing someone for running a "Red Light". Leaving the scene after being stopped for the original violation, is an arrestable offense on it's own. There is a reason that the Clark subject chose to flee and it's not because he is a outstanding, tax paying citizen. If the Clark subject had not left the scene, this tragedy would not have happened. Deputy Gregory did what the tax payers (me included) are paying him to do, which is to enforce the laws of this county and State. (cont.)

The officer was doing his job! The Clark subject would have been in a lot less trouble if she had stayed put and not ran. She choose to do so and now she'll pay the price. .

Further more, Deputy Gregory will live with this, pray for the Latimer Family, consult with the Chaplain and re-live it far longer than any of the arm-chair Law Enforcement Officers that choose to attack his character, educational level or professionalism. If Deputy Gregory (which has a college education) stated that he did not hear the order to "back off", then you can bet he did not hear it. Quite possibly I'm sure that there where 5 or more other deputies transmitting at the same time as the supervisor, not to mention dispatch transmitting as well. I will conclude this with a "Thank You" to RCSO Deputies for what you do, the sacrifices that your family makes and to Ronnie Strenth for supporting his deputies. My prayers go out to the Latimer Family, and may they know in their hearts that Deputy Gregory was doing what his oath has him to and i promise you he shares the pain. Oh yeah, RCSO is hiring, if any of you arm-chair deputies would like to earn your paycheck.

very well said...rrr332................that should shut the self-rightous opinionated ones up. (don't feel like spellcheck..so deal with it)

Look on the flip side. If any person fleeing from a traffic stop is not pursued, who would we blame when that person kills 4 or 5 people while not being pursued, both on the road and after the cops give them that chance for a free release? Come on. Innocent people don't run. Growing up in church and in school, I was taught to wait until all the facts were given before passing judgment. I believe most policemen do their best to protect the majority of innocent people in their decisions to put a wrongdoer in jail any day of the week.

High speed chase for a redlight violation? C'mon!!!! As is OFTEN the case in situations such as this, the cop deludes himself into thinking he's invincible, just because is a cop. Power hungry. The old "you cannot do that, I'm superior, I'm a cop," and "whatever I say is right, is right. NO dispute.," attitude is evinced here.

He wasnt getting paid to "do his job," if he was putting or contributing to putting innocent people at risk, over a redlight violation. He HAD the offenders tag number and, probably, all the rest of his paperwork. WHERE was the offender going to go, the thriving metropolis of Jackson? That cop needs to be held accountable.

You know, sliique, whatever the officer "should" have done, the bulk of the responsibility rests with the fleeing offender. You were not there, you do not have all the facts. The officer may have some, read SOME, responsibilty, but the officer is not the one who blew the red light at 80 MPH. The driver of the Blazer is responsible for his own actions. That is the problem with society today, pass the blame and be quick to judge others.

My profound sympathies to the family who lost their loved one. Now to those who seek to place blame on anyones shoulders other than the right party I say travel in that officers shoes so to speak and see what you would do. As far as high speed chases go if the taxpayers and commissioners would get off their wallets and pay these officers the proper salary and hire more officers then there would have been enough to protect the rest of the citizens while the criminals are being apprehended. Place the blame where it belongs and leave the officers out of it.

See what trouble these low-life dope-heads cause? and at 19 years old you are no longer a "boy" but a legal adult. I hope he really enjoyed his drugs,I don't think he will be doing anymore anytime soon.

How did he know the car wasn't stolen or the driver gave him a fake id? It is a terrible tragedy but the blame should be on the criminal that fled the scene.....They will still be doing drugs in jail, butt they will be paying with favors instead of money...

I heard the audio on Ch 12 and the order was to break it off at the state line. However Clark went West not East, so the chase was not ordered off. Please wait for the investigation to be complete before giving opinions.

Now that you have him how long will it be before we read in the paper that hes out and another civilian is dead from his highs and no driving record. You have a murder charge against him keep his [filtered word] there and don't let anyone else get hurt or killed for the low laws we have. God forbid if a dog had been killed ya'll would never let him out. But instead a humand life was taken and no one really cares. May she rest in peace knowing that some one does care for her sole. RIP Our prayers are with the family and loved ones.

First all, my sympathy goes out to the innocent victim in this tragedy. Secondly, my sympathy goes out to the young officier who will have to endure this memory for the rest of his life. A memory caused by a reckless and irresponsible person who has not regards for authority. If he was ONLY guilty of running a red light why did he flee the scene? His stupidity cost this woman her life and possibly another person their career. people llike this need to be held accountable and people should not condemn those doing their job.

Clearly anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that the cop was not using professional judgement-- typical cop mentality! Noone should be defending his actions.

Here goes News 12 AGAIN acting as judge and jury. They are assuming that the deputy is at fault for not ending the chase. When is someone going the call News 12 on there malicious news reporting tactics that are ruining peoples lives??

go cops....

the officer was not right to chase this person down...local people can be rounded up without a wild west chase through congested areas , killing innocent people.
it was not worth it , and all you people's chest thumping and "the law is always right" bullcrap won't change it.

If the cop disregarded the supervisor in not breaking off pursuit, he is at least guilty of not following police procedure, if not also bearing some responsibility for the death of an innocent driver. The kids were absolutely at fault and should be charged and convicted of vehicular homicide. But as other posters have stated, this chase was over a minor traffic violation and the police could have picked up the driver later. They had his tag number, license and registration, if the officer was writing out a ticket. Police have to remain cool and weigh the consequences of their actions. Was chasing these kids worth the death or serious harm to other innocent people?

Anyone who would run for being stopped for running a red light is guilty of a whole lot more. I, too, am sick of people turning criminals into victims. Don't forget, intoxicated drivers run into people and kill them even when they are not being pursued by officers!

The officer was told to break off at the state line whch the chase never went toward SC so the officer did not break off. Then he was told to break off with the supervisor saying 2 things and the dispatcher talking how was the officer to know to break off the chase regardless of the direction the suspect was going. The officer was right to chase the Blazer b/c the driver must have been guily of more than a traffic violation. The driver was endangering innocent people before the chase ever started. No matter what the outcome of this would have been people still would have critizied the officer. My prayers go out to the real victim in all of this. The lady that died and her family is the real victim not the driver of the Blazer which is what alot of you seem to believe.

He had the tag number and license information, why chase him at all. A red light violation is not worth a person's life. There needs to be a some rule when to stop pursuit. I'm all for getting these thugs and punks off the street, but law enforcement needs to realize when they are endangering the public.

My sympathy to the family who lost their loved one. She died needlessly.

I say that the officer is at fault a bit, but then again he was only doing his job. He only wanted to catch the criminal, and ensure the safety of others. What if the cop wouldn't have stopped the vehicle, what if it was a group of children playing along side the road, and instead of hitting the woman, he hit them. There are endless possibilities. Deep down I believe the officer did what he believed was right at the time and I don't believe he intended to cause anyone their life. ( Actually he didn't, but in the entire situtation he has his part.

I am ashamed to be in Augusta. You want the thugs off of the street. The only way to do that is to catch them when you can. Most of the people who run are running because their ID is not correct and the car was most likely to be stolen. Crooks are smart. There is a 99% chance with all of the information the deputy had that these kids would never be caught. Chances are the next time they were stopped they would run again. Therefore, this could have happend at a later time. I am heart-broken for this family. THIS IS NOT THE DEPUTY'S FAULT!!!! I urge you all to try to stop these kids with guns and knives like the deputies do. You are the same people who would have chastized RCSO if these punks had killed this woman without being chased and would have said that the sherriff's office wasn't doing their job! I am sick to hear all of you!