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Alabama High Speed Chase Ends With Century Manhunt
May 24, 2013
A high speed chase that began Thursday in Brewton, AL, ended with an unsuccessful manhunt in Century.
Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff Grover Smith said officers attempted to serve an outstanding Florida arrest warrant on the suspect, later identified as 20-year old Akino Jama Jackson of Century, at a Brewton motel.
He was picked up in a Dodge Stratus by his alleged girlfriend, Smith said, fleeing the motel and nearly striking two officers. Alabama authorities gave chase along Highway 31 toward Flomaton. Somewhere along the way, he switched places with his girlfriend. With Jackson now behind the wheel, Smith said the chase reached speeds over 100 mph as it neared Flomaton. Alabama deputies deployed a spike strip before the chase reached Florida, but he avoided it.
The chase crossed into Florida on Fannie Road, with Escambia County (AL) deputies and the Flomaton Police Department still in pursuit as Jackson continued south on Jefferson Avenue. Smith said he ordered his officers to “back off” the chase and wait for assistance from Florida authorities.
Due to a “miscommunication” between agencies, Smith said his deputies continued to follow the car south through Century believing Escambia County, FL, deputies would take over the chase.
But Escambia County, FL, has a strict no-chase policy that virtually eliminates involvement in any pursuit. The policy reportedly did not come into play Thursday, as Alabama authorities lost sight of the Dodge Stratus as they fell back. Florida deputies never arrived in the area in time to join in a pursuit or even follow the vehicle.
Authorities located the vehicle a short time later in an overgrown area of a lot at the corner of Gilford Avenue and Bonwell Street. The occupants had fled on foot, and a K-9 unit from the Escambia County Road Prison was called to assist in a manhunt. Authorities were unable to locate Jackson after a complete search of the area.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Akino Jama Jackson is asked to call their local law enforcement agency or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Pictured top and below: A manhunt Thursday afternoon in Century following an Alabama high speed chase. Pictured inset: The suspects vehicle parked in an overgrown area at the corner of Gilford Avenue and Bonwell Street. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
36 Responses to “Alabama High Speed Chase Ends With Century Manhunt”
(by the way, keep the car)
REGARDING:
“Pass a law with emphasis on the Fleeing Felon.
The law could be written in such a way that the felon, by fleeing, automatically forfeits all constitutional protection and rights. The felon could even be considered to be placing themselves in a Donor Status by committing the act of fleeing from LE.”
The only level at which the rights under the Constitution can be withdrawn is the Constitutional level. A city, county, state or even the federal government can not take away Constitutional rights. That can only be done by amending the Constitution or replacing the supreme court justices with people who’ll rule the Constitution it doesn’t mean what it says. (That should be avoided.)
Donor status isn’t protected, so claiming organs of any dead people is allowed, it just isn’t generally done.
And let’s be honest. There are some law enforcement officers we don’t trust to not shoot us down and claim we were fleeing if they could get away with it. I’m not saying there’re many but history shows they exist. Some were even caught doing it in New Orleans back in 2005.
Let’s not encourage evil.
David for arrester barriers, properly placed lasers,
smoke screens, tagger devices, Obama drones
The whole “get the tag number” idea doesn’t work in the first place. The tag number doesn’t tell the police who was driving and good people don’t let bad people driver their vehicles. News Flash: Bad guys lie….A LOT. Do you think that they or thier friends are going to just tell who was driving the vehicle? I think NOT!
Pass a law with emphasis on the Fleeing Felon.
The law could be written in such a way that the felon, by fleeing, automatically forfeits all constitutional protection and rights. The felon could even be considered to be placing themselves in a Donor Status by committing the act of fleeing from LE.
The ball needs to be placed in the felons court. If they decide to flee then so be it.
Unleash Law Enforcement upon them full fury as that is what they requested by fleeing.
And what if it’s someone in a stolen car? They won’t be able to track them down later because all they’ll have is plate numbers that don’t belong to the person.
Hey , Everyone in The United States – head to Escambia County Florida if you’ve done something wrong / wanted or would like to remain free , the law down here won’t pursue you …
“Flee to be Free” is absolutely correct. And with NO eyes in the sky, is is just that much sweeter for the criminals. So much for “do the crime, do the time”, it is now “do the crime, have a getaway vehicle”. I wish I could have been there when these great minds came together and came up with the “no chase” policy. I just do not understand it (I am shaking my head at this).
wish I had read this ealier in the week, when it happened. Saw him over on Backwoods friday morning (trying to remember if it was 7 or 8 a m). He was hanging out with family over there. Guess I should call the police. Sounds like, unless he gives himself up, its pretty much a waste of time though. Sad. I get why the no pursuit rule, but they need to revise it. If it was a police officers kid (or the mayor, someone “important”) who had just been shot or robbed, I bet theyd chase them to the ends of the earth.
It’s pretty stupid for the sheriff to release any policies to the public in the first place. It’s not anyone’s business unless they work for the department. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that officer’s can not be held responsible or liable for property damage, injuries or death caused by a fleeing suspect while in a pursuit. Even the Supreme Court has enough sense to know that IT IS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE the fault of an officer if someone dies at the hands of a fleeing criminal. There are good times to chase someone and there are bad times to chase someone. Having a “no chase” policy is stupid and bad business. Having a “chase everyone all the time” mentality is also stupid and bad business. Unfortunate things happen and nothing will ever stop them. But making a policy or law because something bad happens every now and then is ridiculous. The more aggressive the police are, the more scared and weary the criminals are. Unless you are a bad person, you should have to worry about being “harrassed”. I am all for LEOs ramming and wrecking people who run. The problem with that is then people will blame the officer when the bad guy gets hurt or killed. If you make the choice to run, you know you are rolling the dice with your life. If the cops wreck you out and you get hurt or die, then that’s a choice that you made. I’m just suprised that Grover Smith actually let his deputies do their job for once.
D L Hall wrote:
In other words , in Escambia Co Florida – rob / shoot someone / purse snatchers / speeders & bank robbers know they are NOT going to be chased ?
That is absolutely correct. The ECSO just released a policy to the media that the deputies WILL NOT engage in ANY pursuits. Not robbers, not shooters, not bank robbers, and certainly not the speeders and purse snatchers.
“Flee to be free” is the new “enlightened” policy.
So now when a fugitive in Alabama wants to run, he’ll just head towards the FL line as fast as he can.
Re: rodeo cop
I wouldn’t know anything about the Pensacola policeman’s jobs, nor was I talking about Florida, I was making a point about the unnecessary car chase here in Alabama. This tri-city area is full of kids with badges who ride around spinning their tires when they think nobody is looking, and sleeping while parked off in the dark while they think no one can see them. To you who do that, careful where you park, sometimes we can see you through your dark tinted windows. I never said anything about Pensacola, I was referring to the backwoods country Barney’s, they give the authority to so they can save money. Down here its quite the opposite of your description. We stay out in the woods away from town for fear of the ” professional bullies ” that ride around harassing innocent people to ease their boredom.
In other words , in Escambia Co Florida – rob / shoot someone / purse snatchers / speeders & bank robbers know they are NOT going to be chased ? What purpose is the sheriffs dept for , just to ride around an watch/look ? I got an idea , do away with that dept if they can’t / won’t enforce the laws …
He knew florida wasnt stepping in, it says it right there in the story, they have a no chase policy, There needs to be a investigas on the law enforcement of florida and alabama, it makes you wonder what else have they done wrong
A question for all of you folks that subscribe to the “just pick him up later” approach, what makes you think he won’t run again next time? And the next time? And so on?
When someone is a fugitive and they succesfully run to avoid apprehension, it emboldens them, and why not?
If I reasonably believe that the law won’t chase me, it’s a low risk/ high reward decision that I’ll make every time. Meanwhile the law breaker continues to commit crimes. I hope for the reader’s sake, that you are not the next victim of one of those that you don’t want the law to chase…
I agree with MJ and Tammy. To keep pursuing him could have cost an innocent persons life. This guy has been on Northescambia.com before so those of you who are frequent readers should know what this warrant was for. He will be caught so no need to hurt anyone in the process.
@u got it JIMBOB, you exagerate a bit much. Addict’s on every other corner.
Hwy 29 thru century is like a race track I see it everyday. Life of a criminal is getting easier everyday thanks to our decision makers.. century is a town doomed no good paying jobs not enough jobs at low wage no affordable housing and addict’s on every other corner.. I will admit I don’t have a solution but for the community’s sake someone needs to figure out an action plan quick and Bratt and walnut hill you are already seeing the effects trickling over. There is no structure in century . Hell have the time its easy to know where the law men are.. just look at the station fastfood
Jimbob:
Please note that this speeding you mentioned actually falls under the FHP.
Dear Concerned Citizen,
We ride around all day itching for something to do? I’m not sure that you have gotten your FACTS. Penssacola IS gang infested. Opposite of what you may think you know, at the end of our shifts we want to go home to our famlies. We don’t want to be tied up with lawyers or IA for tthat matter. If you don’t like it here, or your hestiant to call upon “us” may I suggest you find someplace else to live? Or better yet, come sign up for a ride along with us! Don’t just us until you have walked a mile in our shoes! Or at least one shift! Thank you!
You can’t really expect the ECSO to get people back on Fannie Rd at a moment’s notice, when they can’t seem to stop ANY of the people speeding through Century on Highway 29. It’s a 35 MPH zone and they speed through at 50MPH and better. I drive through Century most mornings about 8:30 and again in the afternoon at 1:30. Everyone seems to speed!
Chases are no good. It is always a local that is trying to be a smart Alec. He can be had in a few hours or the next day. Endangering the lives of innocent people is a little too much this day and time. I applaud Sheriff Morgan for his no chase policy,other departments should join suit. I might remind you of a local young man a few years that was chased seven miles deep in Florida by Atmore P D. He was shot in the back of the head and killed when all he was wanted for was a failure to appear.
@ we got this:
On the other hand had our local officers known how to find him, then he wouldn’t have been free in the first place. The article says that the warrant was from Florida. This was a Florida criminal that went to Alabama. Local Alabama officers found him and chased him back to Florida where our local officers let him get away.
@Tammy:
That “outstanding arrest warrant” could have been for anything from a traffic offense to murder. We don’t know what it was for, but it is probably safe to assume that it was something pretty serious since (A) Florida was obviously willing to extradite from another state, and (B) the suspect was willing to run over police officers to avoid capture. What if we find out that this guy is a rapist, murderer, or child molester; and since they didn’t capture him, he continues to commit these horrible acts? what if, God forbid, one of your family members is his next victim? Would you still think that his capture wasn’t “necessary”? No chase policies are a double-edged sword.
@M J:
If I remember correctly, Brewton Police had terminated the chase when the school principal was killed. The bad guy kept running. As far as knowing who the guy is, that doesn’t always mean they can get him before he does more harm. my guess is that he’ll just keep running as long as he knows they are not going to chase him (I would).
@Tammy– I tend to be with you on this. Does anyone know what the “outstanding warrant” was for? Like Morgan or not, more and more agencies are going to a chase policy like this. Once upon a time LEO could shoot anyone who ran from them, then it went to fleeing felons and now that is slowly changing due to court rulings and lawyers costing the agencies and their insurance coverers so much. The worse hoodlum becomes a very valuable asset to a family and their lawyer if the hoodlum is killed by LEO. The LEO can also be sued for not following departmental policy. Most officers at some point will be told that their agency is being sued and the officer may wish to retain a lawyer for their own protection. Most departmental policies are for the protection of the agency not the LEO.
Grover smith can keep his deadly chases in alabama he has enough of his own criminals our local officers know how to find him won’t be hard..
I agree with the above comments, a 100 MPH high speed chase just to catch a kid with an outstanding warrant… cmon, everybody around here knows that these local ” cops ” ride around all day bored out of their minds just itching to chase somebody down to put a little excitement into their boring country town lived, excluding the very few mature, respectable officers. If you want gun fights and high speed chases, go chase murderers out in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles or any other gang ridden city. I’ve lived in many other towns and city’s, big and small and never have I ever seen such unprofessional law enforcement officers, I wouldn’t even feel comfortable calling them that, that sounds too professional, I just call them rodeo cops.
When is this man going to be locked up and kept away he is a repeat offender and everyone knows it that lives here for what he has been caught with but more so what he has gotten away with for years. And yes David a good kid that turned to a bad money making lifestyle one that many do in our area we have a problem in our community and I don’t feel Morgan is doing enough up here. And judges are not helping..maybe a few years of lock up and some kind of teaching and rewireing he might turn around . And if not send him back like his brother.. and I will pray for our town and the people around us for apparently they are endangered by our criminals also and pray for the criminal too.
Try shooting them.
No need to chase.
Tammy,
In their defense, they may have felt her willingness to run over THEM made them a clear and present danger to others. We know he’s a sweet kid, but they might not know.
David for safe drivers
safe drives
>>Actually, I don’t believe that is the Escambia County Road Prison K-9 unit; I believe it was the Century Correctional Institution K-9 unit. Just saying…
Nope. It was the Road Prison. (Biggest clue was the wording on the trucks.)
Actually, I don’t believe that is the Escambia County Road Prison K-9 unit; I believe it was the Century Correctional Institution K-9 unit. Just saying…
Lives were put in danger in a high speed chase just to serve an “outstanding arrest warrant”? How many innocent people will have to be injured or killed by officers or suspects before ALabama stops this. There may be times a high speed chase is necessary but this, like so many other times, was not necessary. My son drives Hwy 31 everyday and I do not appreciate his life being put in danger by a chase to catch someone with an “outstanding arrest warrant”.
Tell that to the family of the man who was killed north of Brewton by a driver being pursued by the police, they knew who he was just pick him up later. If they couldnt catch him on a four lane highway, the chase should have stopped because they headed into a residential area. In Century we love our kids and family members just like other communities and we dont want to hear about one of them getting killed by a driver or police involved in a high speed chase. FL LEO didnt drop the ball, AL had 14 miles to catch him, Fannie rd should have been blocked, but that would mean the chase would have to go through Flomaton.
Nobody is more frustrated and angry about this incident than the Florida deputies. This story is another example of why crime has risen to the highest level in the state under Sheriff Morgan. Are you starting to see a pattern?
Now all criminals know in Ecambia Co that they can drive fast and get away. Sounds like a great idea sheriff !
There ya go sheriff…brilliant no chase policy here. Alabama cops have a known and wanted suspect in their sights and florida drops the ball and he can’t be found. I understand that pursuits can be dangerous but get this – so can criminals. Review your policies sheriff and think about how ridiculous this is.