Christmas Police Pursuit Tragedy in Pasadena

Then, three days later, police arrested Larry Bishop, 20, on suspicion of murdering McClinton. He was driving a gray Chevrolet Captiva, not a Durango, and was believed to be in a different Bloods set than those involved in the police pursuit and fatal crash, police said.

According to incomplete data compiled by the National Highway Transit Safety Administration, bystanders account for about one-third of deaths during police pursuits, one reason such pursuits are so controversial. Officers rarely die. Fleeing suspects die most often. Innocent bystanders rank second in the death count.

Pasadena detectives will investigate the fatal collision, and the watch commander who oversaw the pursuit from the station will present a detailed analysis to department brass, Qualls says.

Pasadena's pursuit policy gives the on-duty watch commander full authority to decide how long to continue a chase. It's not clear if an FBI agent must obey, but Qualls says that question did not come into play because the chase was over so quickly.

LAPD bans officers from chasing a driver suspected of an infraction or reckless driving unless the driver appears to be under the influence. If the Durango had blown through a stop sign in L.A., odds are LAPD would not engage in a high-speed chase.

Candy Priano, executive director of the nonprofit PursuitSAFETY, says, "The fleeing driver does not care about anyone's safety." Priano's daughter was killed a decade ago in Chico when her van was struck by a fleeing driver. She says, "The burden, by necessity, falls on the police to keep the public and themselves safe."

Policing experts agree that chases should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. "You're driving a ton of metal down a road at 60 miles per hour," says Gareth Jones, an internationally recognized expert. "There is more than a remote possibility that someone is going to get killed." He said running a stop sign seems like a weak reason to begin a high-speed pursuit.

At the intersection of Maple and Marengo this week, a makeshift shrine served as an indication of the tragedy. The shrine appeared to have been put together mostly by neighbors and churchgoers, with some messages written entirely in Spanish.

Wrapped around a light pole was a sweatshirt from Our Lady of Mercy, the Bay Area school where Kendrick Ng was in sixth grade. A message from the school was posted nearby, announcing the boy's death to the school's parents.

"May (Ng's) soul be lifted by the Christmas angels," it concluded. "May his cousin too be (cradled) by our Blessed Mother."