Dramatic police dashboard-camera videos revealed just how quickly routine traffic stops can turn into dangerous chases.
A newly released video shows a June 30 chase that ended in a collision that critically injured two drivers and killed a dog. Dallas County also released a video of a chase on June 29 that ended when the driver was T-boned by a pickup truck.
The June 30 chase started when a deputy pulled over Corine Croxton for expired tags and then realized her inspection sticker had been tampered with, authorities said.
In the video, Croxton seems to panic when the deputy tells her that he will be impounding her car. She tells him she can't lose her car because it has all her belongings in it, before jumping back in and speeding away, leaving her three passengers behind on the curb.
The deputy quickly pursues Croxton, who reaches speeds of 80 mph through a construction zone. The chase ends 90 seconds later when the video shows the woman hitting one car and then colliding into two more.
The wreckage left Croxton and the passenger in the second car trapped inside their vehicles.
The video of the June 29 chase shows all the close calls, near misses and an up-close look of the brutal wreck that ended the chase on Plano Road near Buckingham.
The driver, Shane Michel, 29, of Mesquite, is still in the hospital.
The incidents raised questions about Dallas County's policy allowing deputies to use individual discretion when chasing suspects.
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said he thought about the policy after seeing video of the June 29 chase.
"It's always a concern when you got the public," he said. "It's always a concern."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
While the county commissioners set the constables' budget, the constables set their chase rules, Price said.
"That's what the law requires," he said.
Price said he has talked with the constables about their requirements for chasing, but said he still backs their decision to pursue.
"Bottom line, I've got to be behind them," he said. "I got to support them until such a time that they show that they're not being reasonable."
The Precinct 4 Dallas County constable declined a request for an interview about the June 30 chase, saying an internal investigation is still pending.
