Young says pursuit was proper

Jen Lawson and Heather Rawlyk

Friday, Nov. 5, 2004 | 9:51 a.m.

Sheriff Bill Young said he believes the police chase Tuesday that ended in a crash that killed a mother and daughter when the suspect ran a red light was within the department's pursuit policy.

However, he said he has ordered an investigation to ensure the officer followed proper procedure.

"It's too early for me to comment, but suffice it to say we will leave no stone unturned," Young said. "Two totally innocent people were killed by someone who never should have been out on the street."

The incident began about 10 p.m. Tuesday near Lorenzi Park at Washington Avenue and Valley View Boulevard, when an officer spotted a black 1998 Cadillac DeVille that had been reported stolen earlier in the night.

The officer tried to pull over the driver using lights and sirens, but 24-year-old Vernon Morrison didn't stop, police said. Investigators haven't determined his exact speed but it appears he was going about 60 mph.

A block away, on Valley View Boulevard and Bonanza Road, Morrison approached a red light with traffic crossing through the intersection.

Police said the officer tried to back off when it appeared Morrison was going to run the light.

"That is going to be a critical issue," Young said. "It was so quick, so fast."

Morrison crashed into a Ford Escort driven by 42-year-old Marisa Djaya. She died a short time later at University Medical Center. Her daughter, 14-year-old Putri Marsitaningrum, died at the scene, police said.

The department adopted a more restrictive pursuit policy last year. Criteria such as the seriousness of the crime, traffic, weather, road conditions, whether the need for immediate apprehension outweighs the dangers posed by the chase and whether police know the suspect and can make the arrest later should be taken into account when deciding if an officer should continue a chase.

A supervisor must constantly re-evaluate the circumstances of the chase and should terminate it if it becomes too dangerous, the policy notes.

Helicopters, which can track vehicles safely from above, should be called in if possible, and stop sticks, which are strips with spikes that are put down in front of fleeing vehicles, should also be considered.

Other methods such as having additional police cruisers following a chase on parallel streets and having a cruiser with its lights and sirens off following a suspect's vehicle at a safe distance were also added as options.

But Tuesday's chase was over so quickly that there wasn't an opportunity to employ any of those methods.

A helicopter was called to help in Tuesday's chase, Young said, but the chase was so short -- less than half a mile -- that it was over before the helicopter could get there.

Djaya and her daughter had attended a prayer meeting early Tuesday evening before the fatal crash and had spent several hours afterward sight-seeing with a group of visiting pastors, Djaya's mother, Mary Gardner, said. They had just dropped off the group and were heading back home when the crash occurred, she said.

Gardner said she didn't understand why police were chasing Morrison and "putting everyone in more danger."

"I think this was a police mistake," she said. "This man is already out of control and driving crazy. They should have just backed off."

Gardner described her daughter and grandaughter as "beautiful, outgoing people."

"My grandaughter loved to sing," she said. "She had a really good voice. Her favorite song was 'Love Me Tender.' She sang beautiful. My daughter did everything for her and was a really wonderful person."

Djaya separated from her husband and moved with Marsitaningrum from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in March, Gardner said.

"She had just been reborn in Christ, turned things around and was starting a new life," Gardner said. "She thought coming to Las Vegas would be great so that she could share with people that it wasn't just Sin City and that people could know about Jesus. She wanted to do good and do better things with her life."

She got a job as assistant manager of Rampage clothing store in the Boulevard mall and got involved in local church activities, Gardner said.

Morrison appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol when he was taken into custody, Young said, which means he would have been a threat to public safety even if police hadn't been chasing him.

Morrison was arrested on charges of felony reckless driving involving death, felony evading and felony possession of a stolen vehicle, police said. If a blood test shows he was under the influence police expect to file additional charges.

He was arrested by Metro Police once before, on Aug. 24 for drug trafficking, possession of an unregistered firearm and related offenses, Sgt. Chris Jones, police spokesman, said.