(C) BoingBoing
This story was originally published by BoingBoing and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
No charges for off-duty cop who killed 13-year-old girl with cruiser. Prosecutor says it doesn't matter if he was speeding. [1]
['Rob Beschizza']
Date: 2023-05-13
Jeffrey Racer, an off-duty West Virginia cop who struck and killed a 13-year-old girl with his police cruiser, will face no charges, prosecutors announced Friday. Special Prosecutor for Cabell County Mark Sorsaia said that it was the girl's fault, as she had alcohol and marijuana in her system, and it doesn't matter if he was speeding.
the "tragic loss" of 13-year-old Jacqueline "Laney" Hudson in December 2022 was a "direct result" of her own erratic behavior while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, according to a letter dated Thursday clearing former Cabell County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Racer of negligence. That "severely affected her judgement and ability to make rational decisions, and subsequently led to her running in front of the car," wrote Sorsaia, who is also prosecutor in Putnam County
The available evidence does make it appear the girl was fooling around in the street. It's a shame the available evidence resulted from an intensive blame-seeking investigation into the victim matched by excuses for the officer's own choices. We're told it's impossible to know precisely how fast Racer was going because his cruiser's "black box" mysteriously failed to record it, and Sorsaia said even if he was speeding it doesn't matter because that's just how fast people drive on that road.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://boingboing.net/2023/05/13/no-charges-for-off-duty-cop-who-killed-13-year-old-girl-with-cruiser-prosecutor-says-it-doesnt-matter-if-he-was-speeding.html
Published and (C) by BoingBoing
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/boingboing/
