Community Mourns Two Teens Killed in Police Chase

Racial Reckoning: The Arc of Justice

Georgia Fort reports:

Families are questioning the Ramsey County Sheriff's policy on high-speed chases after a vehicle pursuit claimed the lives of two teens in Maplewood on Friday, Sept 3.

14-year-old Marcoz Paramo and 15-year-old Alyjah Thomas were two of six teenagers in a car that police say was reported stolen.

Dispatch audio reveals an initial request for an ambulance was cancelled, a decision Tanya Gile says may have cost her son his life.

“He just turned 14 and he was blossoming and now I won’t ever ever ever get to see that young man,” said Gile through her tears.

Ramsey County’s policy on pursuing vehicles is not publicly available. The county did not respond to a request for comment. Giles says the Ramsey County Sheriff’s department should be transparent with its policies. She says if a policy was violated the sheriff should be held accountable.

“I want these police to be held accountable for these deaths because both of these kids would be alive had the police obeyed the law, like we all should.”

At this time no officers have been charged. However, the 15-year-old driver of the car has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide. While the pursuit was led by sheriff deputies the crash happened in the city of Maplewood. According to Maplewood’s communications manager, city police are only allowed to pursue violent or felony level suspects.

The community is holding a vigil and protest Friday afternoon for the two teens who lost their lives.