MEMPHIS, Tenn. — West Memphis Police Department gave a statement on Facebook Thursday, April 28 denying a woman’s allegations that West Memphis police officers murdered a man after a high-speed chase led to him jumping 40 to 50 feet off I-55 bridge.
The police department said that the woman, who was in the passenger seat when the incident occurred Sunday, April 17, made post on social media claiming that officers murdered the driver after pursuing the vehicle, threatened her, and that she would seek justice.
The police department said that the “outlandish allegations” would not be ignored. The department made further comments in a Facebook post, defending officers.
“At a time when the family should be grieving the loss of a family member, they were bombarded with lies as to what took place. The men and women of the department work tirelessly to protect this community and continue to make efforts to strengthen the trust of the citizens. This is an unfortunate example of what law enforcement deals with daily and it needs to stop. We will continue to make every effort to exude professionalism and transparency so that we can continue to be the police department this community can depend on.”
The entire incident was captured on the officer’s vehicle dashcam, which was also posted to WMPD's Facebook page.
According to WMPD, officers originally responded to a loitering complaint. Officers said that when they arrived at 210 West Service Rd. a man driving a maroon Nissan Rogue with one female passenger attempted to drive off, nearly crashing into the officer’s vehicle. Officers said they then pursued the vehicle on an over 100 mph chase.
The car came to a stop after hitting a barrier on the interstate, and the man driving the vehicle got out of the car through the rear passenger driver side.
The officer’s dash cam footage shows the man jumping off the I-55 bridge after he exited the vehicle. Officers said they assisted by giving him medical attention until EMS arrived to the scene, and he died after being transported to Regional One Hospital.
