FHP:Officer was chasing tinted window car before fatal crash

One motorist was killed and another injured in the accident last month
By Jim Schoettler Story updated at 3:09 AM on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009

A Jacksonville traffic cop was speeding after a vehicle with excessive window tint when the officer plowed into a pickup truck, killing an 86-year-old man last month, the Florida Highway Patrol said Tuesday night.

Officer Marcus Kilpatrick was driving an estimated 98 mph when his patrol car struck the truck driven by Matthew Brice Ogden Jr. on Merrill Road Jan. 14. Ogden, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown through the passenger window of his vehicle and died at the scene. The road has a posted speed limit of 40 mph.

Lt. Bill Leeper, a spokesman for the Highway Patrol, said a traffic homicide investigator told him Tuesday night about the traffic violation targeted by Kilpatrick. Having windows dark enough to obstruct the driver’s view or be a safety issue for police is a civil infraction under state law. There are different measurements of tint for side and rear windows. The infraction is considered a nonmoving violation.

Leeper declined to comment further on the case, which is still under investigation by the Highway Patrol and the State Attorney’s Office. The investigation includes questions over some witness accounts that Kilpatrick was not using his emergency lights or siren. Kilpatrick told investigators he’d activated the lights but not the siren, his police union attorney said.

The vehicle Kilpatrick was trying to catch was not stopped. Kilpatrick’s estimated speed was recorded on a computer in his car. The computer records data similar to a plane’s black box.

Ogden’s stepson, Douglas Berreth, said he received a call Tuesday night from the Highway Patrol about the tint violation. Berreth said he was appalled by the news.

“It’s ridiculous that someone loses their life and an officer needs to chase someone for bad window tint at 98 miles per hour,” Berreth said. “That’s preposterous.”

Kilpatrick, who remains on duty as a traffic enforcement officer, has referred calls to the Fraternal Order of Police. Police union attorney Paul Daragjati said Kilpatrick acted properly with the information he had at the time.

“I’ve known Marcus for quite a while and he always uses good judgment,” Daragjati said. “I think that in this unfortunate incident that he, for whatever reason, felt that this particular individual needed to be stopped.”

Kilpatrick, an officer since 2004, remains on duty as a traffic enforcement officer. The Sheriff’s Office has yet to hold an administrative hearing into the matter because the investigation is ongoing.

The patrol car, going west on Merrill Road, struck Ogden’s eastbound pickup truck as it was turning from the center lane into a parking lot about 1 p.m. Both cars spun and the truck then struck the patrol car. The patrol car then drove into the driver’s side of a stopped car about to leave the parking lot.

Kilpatrick, 29, suffered minor injuries, as did the driver of the stopped vehicle, Robyn McCormick, 33.

McCormick’s lawyer, Henry Gare, said Ogden’s insurance agents told him witnesses saw Kilpatrick driving without his emergency equipment on. Under state law, when an officer exceeds the speed limit to catch a traffic violator, he must use emergency equipment and consider whether he is endangering the public.

Gare’s account reflects a report by the Highway Patrol that some witnesses contradicted initial indications that Kilpatrick’s emergency lights were on.

Gare said McCormick did not see the police car coming.

“It was still a violent collision with her [McCormick’s] car, that’s just how incredibly fast he was going,” Gare said. “There are reasons why they need lights and sirens on so tragedies like this don’t happen.”

McCormick suffered a shoulder injury that will require months of therapy, Gare said. He said he has notified the city that he is investigating the accident. Berreth said he is considering hiring a lawyer to investigate the case.

State and court records show that Kilpatrick was cited for speeding twice in 1998 and once in 2000, before he joined the Sheriff’s Office. Department records show that Kilpatrick has had one accident, when he backed into a parked vehicle in 2006. Records also show he was cited for failing to observe a stop sign in 1999 and was operating a vehicle with defective equipment in 2005. As for Ogden, records show he received a speeding and seat belt citation last year, 10 years since his last citation.

Kilpatrick’s evaluations are full of praise from his superiors. He is described as a enthusiastic team player who is kind and caring toward the public.

“Officer Kilpatrick is a hard worker that quietly does a very good job,” concluded his latest evaluation in September 2008.

jim.schoettler@jacksonville.com,
(904) 359-4385

They really need to change some pursuit laws...Thats ridiculous.