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Just an update on the case, we have had several good threads on this case so I thought and update was warrented
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9003752
Sullivan County District Attorney Greeley Wells said Monday he believes Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Kyle Cantwell committed no criminal act when he pursued Justin Thompson, 18, after clocking his motorcycle at 140 mph on Interstate 81 on Aug. 19.
“I told them (Thompson’s family) ... if God gave me the ability to have stopped that young man before he hit that guardrail, I would certainly have done it. But the good Lord didn’t do that, and the boy did not stop and take his speeding ticket and go home,†Wells said of Thompson’s death.
Wells’ announcement comes soon after the Virginia State Police on Oct. 18 also cleared Cantwell of any wrongdoing. The VSP determined Thompson was killed after his motorcycle struck a guardrail at the East Carters Valley Road intersection on Wadlow Gap Road in Scott County while traveling an estimated 80 mph, throwing him about 200 feet away from the crash site.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Cantwell’s so-called pursuit of Thompson and handed their findings over to Wells at the end of October. Although those findings aren’t public, Wells said neither he nor Assistant District Attorneys Barry Staubus and Gene Perrin found any evidence a crime had been committed in the chase video. Wells said the video begins when Cantwell “started pursuing, or chasing, or whatever term you might want to use†Thompson’s motorcycle, and stays on until about a quarter of a mile before the Virginia line.
“The taillights of the motorcycle are out of sight, and the trooper knew the state line was coming up and turned his video off,†Wells explained.
Thompson’s family members and Timesnews.net readers have posted over 100 comments questioning the events of that night. READ COMMENTS HERE.
Many questioned Cantwell’s Aug. 20 statement, which described activating his lights and siren each time he gained sight of the bike and then deactivating his lights and siren each time he lost sight of it — and denies ever being in active pursuit.
Wells said what many don’t understand is the distinction “between what pursuit might mean to me or you or the average person, and what pursuit means in the parlance of the Highway Patrol protocols and policies.â€
“The police have a legal right to chase, or pursue someone who is driving at an excessive rate of speed,†Wells said, though he recommends police have their lights on when they are doing so.
“His were on at times,†Wells said. “I don’t have to address the issue that his lights were never on. They were on at times, and so I am taking that into consideration.â€
“The things that would curtail what they’re allowed to do are generally policy decisions by the department itself for liability purposes or safety purposes, and I didn’t look at that,†he said.
A THP policy violation doesn’t equate with a crime, Wells added.
He also addressed the Thompson family’s belief that Cantwell may have bumped his motorcycle with his patrol car, sending it into the guardrail. He attempted to explain why the video makes that highly unlikely.
“When the video ends, the motorcycle is out of sight of the video, out of sight of the trooper’s car, and it’s probably across the state line when he turned it off, and it’s at least 50 yards if not more ahead of him, and the only way he would have caught up to that motorcycle would have been if the motorcycle stopped in the middle of the road,†Wells said.
“And if he had stopped in the middle of the road and been hit by the trooper’s car,†he added, “there would have been evidence all over that highway. ... It just didn’t happen the way that they think it happened.â€
It’s Wells’ understanding that Cantwell topped the hill, saw an “explosion,†and at some point prior to joining the Scott County deputy at the crash scene he’d once again turned on his lights and siren — followed by the camera at some point.
The exact moment Cantwell’s lights and siren came back on has not been determined, although Wells said both the Scott County deputy and Cantwell’s statements agreed his lights and siren were turned back on after the crash, somewhere between the top of the hill and the crash site.
Tennessee Department of Safety spokesman Mike Browning said Monday that although an internal investigation into whether or not Cantwell violated departmental policies is ongoing, Cantwell is no longer on paid administrative leave — and hasn’t been for some time. Since Aug. 31, he has served in an administrative capacity at the Washington County driver’s license station.
Browning said he’s not sure when the internal investigation will conclude.
Earlier stories:
Sullivan DA to decide if THP trooper will be charged in Scott motorcycle fatality
VSP cites speed as cause of motorcycle crash that killed Kingsport teen; TBI says its probe of crash almost
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9003752
Sullivan County District Attorney Greeley Wells said Monday he believes Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Kyle Cantwell committed no criminal act when he pursued Justin Thompson, 18, after clocking his motorcycle at 140 mph on Interstate 81 on Aug. 19.
“I told them (Thompson’s family) ... if God gave me the ability to have stopped that young man before he hit that guardrail, I would certainly have done it. But the good Lord didn’t do that, and the boy did not stop and take his speeding ticket and go home,†Wells said of Thompson’s death.
Wells’ announcement comes soon after the Virginia State Police on Oct. 18 also cleared Cantwell of any wrongdoing. The VSP determined Thompson was killed after his motorcycle struck a guardrail at the East Carters Valley Road intersection on Wadlow Gap Road in Scott County while traveling an estimated 80 mph, throwing him about 200 feet away from the crash site.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Cantwell’s so-called pursuit of Thompson and handed their findings over to Wells at the end of October. Although those findings aren’t public, Wells said neither he nor Assistant District Attorneys Barry Staubus and Gene Perrin found any evidence a crime had been committed in the chase video. Wells said the video begins when Cantwell “started pursuing, or chasing, or whatever term you might want to use†Thompson’s motorcycle, and stays on until about a quarter of a mile before the Virginia line.
“The taillights of the motorcycle are out of sight, and the trooper knew the state line was coming up and turned his video off,†Wells explained.
Thompson’s family members and Timesnews.net readers have posted over 100 comments questioning the events of that night. READ COMMENTS HERE.
Many questioned Cantwell’s Aug. 20 statement, which described activating his lights and siren each time he gained sight of the bike and then deactivating his lights and siren each time he lost sight of it — and denies ever being in active pursuit.
Wells said what many don’t understand is the distinction “between what pursuit might mean to me or you or the average person, and what pursuit means in the parlance of the Highway Patrol protocols and policies.â€
“The police have a legal right to chase, or pursue someone who is driving at an excessive rate of speed,†Wells said, though he recommends police have their lights on when they are doing so.
“His were on at times,†Wells said. “I don’t have to address the issue that his lights were never on. They were on at times, and so I am taking that into consideration.â€
“The things that would curtail what they’re allowed to do are generally policy decisions by the department itself for liability purposes or safety purposes, and I didn’t look at that,†he said.
A THP policy violation doesn’t equate with a crime, Wells added.
He also addressed the Thompson family’s belief that Cantwell may have bumped his motorcycle with his patrol car, sending it into the guardrail. He attempted to explain why the video makes that highly unlikely.
“When the video ends, the motorcycle is out of sight of the video, out of sight of the trooper’s car, and it’s probably across the state line when he turned it off, and it’s at least 50 yards if not more ahead of him, and the only way he would have caught up to that motorcycle would have been if the motorcycle stopped in the middle of the road,†Wells said.
“And if he had stopped in the middle of the road and been hit by the trooper’s car,†he added, “there would have been evidence all over that highway. ... It just didn’t happen the way that they think it happened.â€
It’s Wells’ understanding that Cantwell topped the hill, saw an “explosion,†and at some point prior to joining the Scott County deputy at the crash scene he’d once again turned on his lights and siren — followed by the camera at some point.
The exact moment Cantwell’s lights and siren came back on has not been determined, although Wells said both the Scott County deputy and Cantwell’s statements agreed his lights and siren were turned back on after the crash, somewhere between the top of the hill and the crash site.
Tennessee Department of Safety spokesman Mike Browning said Monday that although an internal investigation into whether or not Cantwell violated departmental policies is ongoing, Cantwell is no longer on paid administrative leave — and hasn’t been for some time. Since Aug. 31, he has served in an administrative capacity at the Washington County driver’s license station.
Browning said he’s not sure when the internal investigation will conclude.
Earlier stories:
Sullivan DA to decide if THP trooper will be charged in Scott motorcycle fatality
VSP cites speed as cause of motorcycle crash that killed Kingsport teen; TBI says its probe of crash almost
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