Driver jailed for police chase
A driver who was involved in a police chase that started in Burlington and ended up with his arrest at an apartment building in Niagara Falls has been sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Lamar Crawford, 22, appeared for sentencing Thursday in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines in front of Judge Ken Lenz.
During an earlier court appearance, Crawford pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving and two counts of failing to stop for police.
Assistant Crown attorney Gabriele Settimi asked the judge to consider a range of sentence up to 90 days in custody and a oneyear driving prohibition. He noted the pre-sentence report that was ordered turned out to be extremely positive.
Duty counsel Al Tessmer said Crawford made a mistake, but he works and helps to support two children.
Court heard police initially ran Crawford’s licence plate and it came back to a suspended driver. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle to identify the driver, but Crawford fled on the QEW at Burloak Drive in Burlington.
When the officer pulled up to the vehicle again trying to identify the driver, Crawford struck the police cruiser, pulled a U-turn and the chase had to be discontinued due to safety concerns.
A police officer in an unmarked vehicle spotted the wanted vehicle on Highway 420 in Niagara Falls, and after waiting for back-up officers to arrive, a rolling block was attempted by police, but Crawford again failed to stop and hit a second police car. The officer suffered a whiplash injury and went to the hospital.
Crawford’s vehicle continued onto Victoria Avenue. The driver failed to stop at three stop signs, drove over a sidewalk and curb and ended up in an apartment parking lot.
At the time of the incident, close to 20 police vehicles — both Ontario Provincial Police and Niagara Regional Police — were in the area as police set up a perimeter behind Niagara Falls Public Library, Buckley Towers and the Stamford Kiwanis Court Apartments.
“As chases go, it was serious,” said the judge. “I would put it in the mid-range. It was dangerous to all concerned, a police officer was injured and two police vehicles were damaged.”
Lenz said a jail sentence was appropriate given the circumstances of the case. He noted Crawford is the last person one would expect to be involved in something like this: he comes from a good background and is not a criminal, but he panicked and decided to remove himself from police.
The judge said it is becoming more common for people to attempt to avoid police and it is something that the courts need to deter. Police, he added, have the right to pull over a driver and determine if they have a licence and insurance.
Crawford will be able to serve the 60-day jail sentence on weekends so that he can continue his employment. He is also prohibited from driving for a year and a free-standing restitution order was issued for $3,609.73 for the damage that was caused to the police vehicles.