Crash
kills driver during pursuit Island Grove man pursued by county deputy
An Island Grove man was killed early Tuesday when his car hit an oak tree during a pursuit
involving an Alachua County sheriff's deputy.
Jeffrey Len Stanford, 25, died in the accident on SE 225 Drive, a graded lime rock road in
eastern Alachua County, at about 1:30 a.m., the Florida Highway Patrol reported. Also
injured in the crash was the 1998 Acura's passenger, Charles T. Somers, 37, also of Island
Grove.
Pursuing Stanford's car was Deputy Joe "J.P." Hood, Sgt. Keith Faulk said. Hood
had spotted the Acura on U.S. 301 after it made a U-turn in front of a semi truck on the
road. The deputy turned on his red-and-blue lights, activating his patrol car's video
camera, as Stanford turned off the highway onto Holden Park Road.
The Sheriff's Office did not release the video Tuesday, saying it is being reviewed by the
agency's patrol division.
But Faulk, who watched the tape, said it lasts about 40 seconds and shows Hood eventually
losing sight of the Acura as it pulls away from his vehicle on SE 225 Drive.
"He actually loses sight because of his speed, road dust and dirt. He loses sight and
basically backs off," Faulk said, citing the tape and a report on the accident.
Moments later the deputy finds the crashed car, he said.
Troopers reported the Acura was driving "at a high rate of speed," went out of
control around a curve and ended up striking the tree. Faulk said the deputy's speed did
not exceed 55 mph during the incident.
Stanford and Somers were not wearing seat belts, troopers reported.
Investigators are awaiting autopsy results to determine if Stanford was under the
influence of drugs or alcohol.
FHP Lt. Mike Burroughs said troopers investigating the crash also reviewed the patrol car
video.
"Basically they are comfortable that this car was fleeing from the deputy and that
when this crash occurred the deputy wasn't in sight and had already backed away," he
said. "This vehicle wasn't even within his vision when this crash occurred."
Hood, who joined the Sheriff's Office in January, has not been placed on administrative
leave.
"We don't feel he was the result of his death," Faulk said. "This
individual decided or took it upon himself by not stopping. His actions are what resulted
in his death."
Faulk said deputies don't know why Stanford didn't stop.
Alachua County court records show Stanford had been convicted of possession of cocaine,
marijuana and drug paraphernalia last year. Faulk said he had been sentenced to three
years' probation and had been arrested several times this year for violating his
probation.
Stanford's father said Tuesday he did not want to comment because he hadn't yet spoken to
deputies about the crash.
Professor Geoff Alpert with the University of South Carolina College of Criminal Justice,
who has researched police pursuits, said data show about 40 percent of all chases
involving officers result in crashes. One percent of those end in a fatality.
"It's a likely outcome that someone's going to crash," Alpert said of police
pursuits. "The way you look at the pursuit is the need to immediately apprehend. It
would be nice to get him to slow down. But all of a sudden, the police intervention has
made it more dramatic. If you continue to chase, will he drive faster? It's a decision
that the policy should dictate."
That doesn't mean that police pursuits aren't necessary, he said. "It shows that they
are very dangerous but necessary for some type of cases such as violent crimes."
Alpert also said that many departments have opted not to initiate pursuits because they
are dangerous.
The Florida Highway Patrol policy is not to engage in a pursuit unless the suspect has
committed a forcible felony or crime of violence, Burroughs said. Troopers also must
factor in whether the chase, even under these circumstances, will endanger the public. If
the trooper decides the chase creates a dangerous environment, they can back off and
follow the suspect at a distance.
Faulk said the Sheriff's Office policy does not require the commitment of a felony.
But, he said, deputies are to take into account road and weather conditions, the type of
violation and pedestrian traffic.
This incident will not result in a policy change, he said.
"The driver in this particular instance put himself in this situation. All he had to
do was pull over. It was his actions that caused his death and the injuries to his
passenger," Faulk said. "The deputy was attempting to initiate a traffic stop.
No one has the right to flee from law enforcement. If we allowed anyone to just run when
we attempted to initiate any action, where would we be at that point?"
Lise Fisher can be reached at 374-5092 or fisherl@gvillesun.com.