CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO/AP) -- A Chicago police officer has been fired over a 2017 high-speed police chase that left two people dead, including an off-duty police officer.
According to police, on June 27, 2017, Officer Jamie Jawor and her partner spotted a Jeep making sudden lane changes. The Jeep Cherokee had matched the description of a vehicle wanted in a carjacking, so the officers gave chase.
Officer Jawor was accused of driving at speeds of over 100 mph while chasing the driver of the Jeep, off-duty police officer Taylor Clark, along Roosevelt Road.
As he was being chased, Clark ran a red light and crashed into another vehicle, driven by 27-year-old Chequita Adams, at Roosevelt Road and Kostner Avenue. Both Clark and Adams were killed.
Related
According to police, Officer Jawor did not put on her unmarked car’s lights and sirens until shortly before Clark ran a red light at Kostner and hit Adams vehicle. First Assistant Corporation Counsel Renai Rodney said in 2019 that an expert hired by the city after Adams’ family filed a lawsuit determined, had the officers activated the lights and sirens, Clark likely would have pulled over, CBS 2 reported.
According to CBS 2, an investigation also determined that Jawor did not contact dispatch to notify them for the purpose of the chase.
Rodney said in 2019 that it turned out Clark’s vehicle was not the one being sought in a carjacking, and because he died, it hasn’t been determined why Clark fled from police at a high rate of speed.
The Chicago Police Board found that Officer Jamie Jawor did not weigh the risks of getting into a high-speed chase. They voted to fire Jawor on a 2019 recommendation of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. The police oversight office said Jawor failed to drive her unmarked police vehicle safely.
Then-police Superintendent Eddie Johnson disagreed with COPA’s findings, saying Jawor’s actions were proper. Police Board member Paula Wolff determined Johnson’s objections did not meet the burden to override COPA’s recommendation for discipline.
Jawor was accused of several police department violations, including bringing discredit to the department, falling to promote its goals, and inattention to duty. The charges alleged Jawor failed to determine if the importance of chasing Clark outweighed the dangers of a vehicle pursuit.
In October 2019, the City of Chicago settled a claim with Adam's family for nearly $5 million.
A lawsuit by Clark’s family claiming the pursuit of his Jeep was without legal justification is pending in Cook County court.
Related
(WBBM Newsradio and The Associated Press contributed to this copy.)