Marlon Brown just before being run over.Credit: screencapThe family of a Florida man, who was run over and killed by a police vehicle, released a video of the incident and is calling for an independent investigation after a grand jury decided that the officer responsible should not face criminal charges.
As Reason reported earlier this year, police spotted Marlon Brown driving without wearing a seat belt. Brown, who had previous encounters with the law, took off and a chase ensued. Several cop cars followed him to a dead-end street, at which point Brown hopped out of his car and ran. Although the other officers stopped their vehicles, Officer James Harris continued driving, ran over, and killed Brown. Harris was quickly suspended and then fired.
However, a grand jury decided earlier this week that criminal charges would not be pressed against the officer. According to the Orlando Sentinel, “the city of DeLand reached a $550,000 settlement with the Browns but did not admit to any wrongdoing in the deadly chase that began with a traffic stop for a suspected seat belt violation.”
According to WKMG, “the medical examiner's report said there is no evidence Brown was struck by the vehicle.” Rather, Brown suffocated after being run over by the vehicle.
Krystle, Brown's ex-wife, who said she “feel[s] betrayed by our criminal justice system,” decided to release the dash-cam video of the event. She believes “the video is important and speaks the truth," which she says contradict the claims of the medical examiner.
"Simply put, this was an execution in a vegetable garden," said attorney Benjamin Crump, who represents Brown's ex-wife and three children. Crump previously represented Trayvon Martin's family. "And for what? An alleged seat belt violation. That's why we were having this high speed chase?"
However, not all are convinced the effort will go anywhere. "You're not going to see any prosecutor or any law enforcement agency come behind this grand jury's refusal to indict and file formal charges," said legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.