MOORESVILLE — The Town of Mooresville and an Indianapolis woman’s family have reached a six-figure settlement following a 2022 deadly police pursuit, WRTV Investigates has learned.
Records show that the Town of Mooresville’s insurance provider will pay $395,000 to the estate of Vickie Berry.
In February 2022, Mooresville Police and a suspect they were chasing on State Road 67 hit speeds of more than 110 mph.
An innocent driver, Vickie Berry, 62, died from her injuries after the suspect ran a red light and hit Berry’s driver’s side causing her vehicle to burst into flames.
The suspect, Jason Howard, also died from his injuries associated with the crash.
Berry’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Town of Mooresville in September 2022.
The lawsuit alleged Mooresville police officers chased Howard at more than 100 mph through “highly populated and heavily traveled” areas even though it “posed an extreme and unnecessary risk of injury and death to innocent motorists such as Berry.”
It also alleged the Town of Mooresville failed to properly train its officers on proper pursuit techniques, failed to observe a crime “other than an alleged traffic violation prior to engaging in a dangerous pursuit,” and failed to adhere to basic traffic safety practices by chasing a vehicle through normal traffic.
According to the settlement agreement, Berry had custody of her then-six-year-old grandson at the time of the crash.
The bulk of the settlement money will help support Berry’s grandson throughout his life, records show.
“The Town is pleased that the matter has been resolved in a way which benefitted the young grandson of the innocent citizen who died as a result of the fleeing felon’s actions,” read a statement from the Town of Mooresville’s attorney. “The Town and its police force remain committed to protecting and serving the citizens of Mooresville.”
A disciplinary board unanimously agreed both officers followed Mooresville’s pursuit policy.
A new police chief, Kerry Buckner, took over in August 2022 and reviewed the Mooresville Police Department’s pursuit policy.
The Mooresville Police Department updated its pursuit policy in December 2022, making it more restrictive.
“A policy was implemented ensuring that when officers determine that the risk to public safety outweighs the need for immediate apprehension, that a detective will conduct an investigation to attempt to identify the fleeing offender,” said Chief Buckner in an email to WRTV. “We are working on training our officers on alternate means of terminating pursuits before they get started.”
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“We are working on training our officers on alternate means of terminating pursuits before they get started,” said Chief Buckner in an email to WRTV.
Buckner said they are ensuring officers have functional stop sticks, understand the safe deployment of them, and are working on receiving PIT training.
A PIT maneuver is a law enforcement pursuit tactic in which an officer’s vehicle forces a suspect’s vehicle to turn sideways abruptly, often causing the driver to lose control or stop.
“The PIT maneuver was not authorized for officers prior to me,” said Chief Buckner.
The department also created a police pursuit review board.
“Any pursuit initiated by our officers is reviewed on a monthly basis to determine if the officer followed procedure and used good discretion,” said Chief Buckner in an email to WRTV. “If the board determines that they did not, the board will decide if the officer requires additional training or if discipline is in order. Our policy is reviewed yearly to determine if any additional restrictions should be in place.”
WRTV Investigates obtained dash camera and body camera footage from the 2022 police pursuit, as well as the final reports through a records request with the Mooresville Police Department and Indiana State Police.
Indiana State Police investigated the crash and noted officers traveled as fast as 110 mph at times during the pursuit.
Indiana State Police also determined suspect Jason Howard was driving at least 91 and 100 mph “at the beginning of visible skid marks,” right before he crashed into Berry’s vehicle.
Indiana State Police concluded the crash, and its severity can be contributed to Howard’s violations of law including:
- Resisting law enforcement
- Aggressive Driving
- Unsafe operation
- Speeding/Driving at an unsafe speed
- Failure to obey a traffic control device
According to the Mooresville Police Department’s incident report, officers Sgt. David Schultz and Officer E.J. Leap pulled over suspect Jason Howard because he was driving 50 mph in a 55 mph zone, which is five miles under the speed limit.
“There was traffic beginning to build up behind our position as we continued south, and the vehicle did not give any indication that it would be making a left turn at any of the intersections we had passed along the way, as well as the vehicle was not passing any other motorist,” Sgt. David Schultz wrote in the report.
A Mooresville detective also noted in the report that driving under the speed limit and allowing traffic to back up is a common indicator of driving under the influence.
A toxicology report later showed suspect Jason Howard was under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine at the time of the crash.
Mooresville Police Department’s report also says Howard was on supervised release for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine until 2025 and also had a criminal history including resisting law enforcement and auto theft.
The body camera and dash-camera footage show as the officers tried to conduct a traffic stop, Howard took off, did a U-turn, and drove at a high rate of speed going north on State Road 67.
Above is raw dash camera video from a Mooresville Police pursuit that happened on February 27, 2022 on SR 67. Please note, there is no audio for the first 42 seconds of the clip. The pursuit begins 1 minute, 20 seconds into the video. WRTV is pausing the video before the crash, because the raw video is graphic and disturbing to watch.
Surveillance video from a nearby Applebee’s shows Berry had a green light and was pulling into the intersection from Enterprise Drive onto State Road 67 when Howard hit her vehicle.
Body camera footage shows officers pull Berry out of the vehicle after attempting to put out the fire, and also the officers’ attempts to help Berry.
Mooresville’s police pursuit policy at the time said when officers decide to pursue a vehicle “the immediate danger to the public should be less than the potential danger to the public should the suspect remain at large.”
The policy also stated officers have to take into account a variety of factors when deciding whether to pursue a suspect including weather, road conditions and the amount of traffic.
