Mother of Kennesaw Man Killed in Crash: PIT Maneuver Too Dangerous

Penny Fowler has a lot of questions surrounding the death of her son, who was killed this past weekend after a chase with the Georgia State Patrol (GSP).

“They say my son led them on a high-speed chase, but I want to have his truck examined to see how fast he was going,” she says. “The GSP hasn’t given me a lot of answers into the circumstances surrounding my son’s death.”

Fulton County sheriff deputies attempted to pull over Jonathan Fowler, 32, for a traffic stop. Fowler didn’t stop, and deputies then contacted the GSP to assist.

The chase ended on Roosevelt Highway at Leslie Drive in Newnan after a trooper performed a maneuver known as PIT. The Precision Immobilization Technique calls for the pursuing officer to use his front bumper to touch the suspect’s rear bumper, causing the car to spin and come to a halt.

But in this case, Fowler lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over. He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. He died on the scene.

The GSP is continuing to investigate the incident, and the trooper that performed the PIT maneuver has been placed on administrative leave per agency policy. The agency is refusing any other comment while the investigation is ongoing.

“They say this maneuver is for the benefit of the driver,” Penny Fowler said. “The whole point of these is to get the people they’re chasing to stop. But there have been some very serious injuries and deaths in these kinds of situations.”

The tactic was developed in Germany and then adopted by the Fairfax County, VA, police department. Now, its widely taught as an anti-terrorist driving tactic to U.S. military and law enforcement agencies.

But GSP has a vague PIT policy which has resulted in a number of injuries and deaths.

In May 2013, 21-year-old Thanquarius Calhoun of Henry County was fleeing from police on I-85 with two passengers in his car when intercepted by a Georgia State Patrol officer who used the PIT technique. After a 14-minute high speed chase, the trooper touched Calhoun’s bumper, which caused his car to spin out of control, go over an embankment and hit a tree. Calhoun was ejected and another friend was uninjured, but the third passenger, a 19-year-old girl, died in the crash.

Calhoun, with a criminal record and long history of fleeing from police, is now serving a life sentence in the girl’s death.

Since Georgia began using the technique, at least 28 people have been killed and 296 injured in related pursuits. The department’s policy does not specify a range of speeds in which the PIT can be safely used.

“My son had a criminal history, but he’d done his time and was a productive member of society,” Penny Fowler said. “He had no reason to run from police.

“I’m concerned for other people who might become involved in these situations,” she said. “There are just a lot of questions about when and where and how this tactic is used.”

See Also:

State Troopers Use Dangerous, Anti-Terror Tactic to Stop Car Chases