A Milwaukee mother is fighting for justice in federal court, nearly 5 years after her son was an innocent victim killed in a police chase.
That woman's lawsuit is something Lighthouse journalist Ben Jordan has been investigating for the past six months. He obtained exclusive video of the chase that killed her son and dug into both sides of the alleged civil rights violation.
"It’s like it was the first day it ever happened. It still feels like that," said Antoinette Broomfield.
It’s a night that still haunts Broomfield.
"I know my life will never be the same," she said.
Her son Lequon McCoy was driving to work in August 2019 when he was blindsided. Another driver fleeing police blew a red light and T-boned Lequon’s SUV.
The wreck was so violent Lequon was ejected from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"It really hurts. My baby son. And I know you aren’t supposed to have favorites, but he was my favorite," Broomfield said.
In addition to the fleeing driver, Antoinette says she blames Milwaukee police.
"You’ve got to know that if you pursue somebody for so, so long, eventually it’s not going to come out good."
Police records show officers initiated the pursuit for reckless driving in a stolen vehicle. It lasted a little over four miles, with the driver being pursued hitting a top speed of 85 miles per hour — nearly three times the speed limit where the crash happened.
"Why would you chase somebody that far without using some type of tactic to stop them?" she questioned.
Two years ago, Antoinette took her frustrations to federal court. She's being represented by attorney Jeff Scott Olson.
"On its surface, [this case is] about a police pursuit by four Milwaukee officers. Two in each of two cars who were pursuing a reckless driver in a stolen vehicle. But if you look a little deeper than that, this reckless driver actually stopped at one point and let passengers out and the pursuing police cars stopped behind him and then followed him again when he drove off," Olson said.
Olson provided us with video that shows a squad waiting behind the suspect's vehicle as he let passengers out of the car.
"The reason the officers stopped behind the fleeing driver’s car when it stopped to let the passengers out was that Milwaukee has a policy that prohibits them to use their vehicles to stop a fleeing vehicle," he added.
Olson says if Milwaukee’s policy allowed officers to use their squads to box in the driver, the pursuit could have ended there. Instead, the driver took off and killed Lequon just minutes later.
"One of the things they can do is use one of the many intervention tactics that are taught and used by other police departments. They’re prohibited in Milwaukee across the board except for spike strips, which not many of the officers have and they’re not something you can use in a split second," Olson said.
The lawsuit makes two claims — one, negligence on the officers' part for continuing the chase, and two, the department’s policies which the suit alleges "created an unreasonable level of danger."
In opposition, the City of Milwaukee argues the officers "did not have a purpose to cause harm." The city also says Antoinette's lawsuit "cannot prove the policy caused a constitutional violation or that it deliberately impacts the rights of citizens."
Police records show the department’s investigation into the pursuing officers found them to be in "full compliance" with department procedures.
Watch: Ben Jordan questions Chief Norman on pursuit policies.
"Some question in that case, why not park in front of that vehicle to get the vehicle to stop? What’s your reaction to that?" Jordan asked.
"Too dangerous. Too many different variables involved in regards to that. That’s not something that we train or anyone suggests to train and so we would not participate in some action like that," Chief Norman replied.
Retired officer Robert Willis has testified in a number of police pursuit trials as a law enforcement expert. He shared the same sentiment as Chief Norman.
"Boxing someone in involves knowing for certain that the person you're chasing doesn't have a weapon," he said.
Antoinette knows the lawsuit is no guarantee — as she awaits a decision from the judge on whether the case will go to trial, but she has no intention of giving up her fight.
"It’s not about the money, and honestly it’s not about the money because I would rather have my son. It’s about changing the laws. They need to be held accountable and responsible for what they did. They need to figure it out better than what they’re doing," Broomfield said.
Ultimately, Antoinette hopes her suit will put pressure on Milwaukee to change its policy and prevent more innocent victims, like her son, from dying.
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