Police in NY crashed their cars by the hundreds between 2013 and 2022, causing death, injury and property damage.
A Rochester police officer was charging down Park Avenue at speeds more than twice the legal limit seconds before he smashed his cruiser into a row of parked cars last year, according to the Police Accountability Board.
One witness apparently described the dizzying crash like a game of pinball.
The officer did not face discipline for the incident. Police said he was responding to a high-priority call at the time to rescue someone in the Genesee River.
After unearthing GPS data tied to the cop's cruiser, PAB investigators determined the officer "failed to act with due regard for the safety of all persons and property." He was traveling about 70 miles per hour just before he crashed.
The oversight agency is recommending a 20-day suspension and renewed training for the officer involved.
Officer raced down Park Ave at 69 mph seconds before crash
The Democrat and Chronicle first covered this crash earlier this year as part of an ongoing USA TODAY Network-Syracuse University investigation into police driving behaviors. The car owners whose vehicles were crushed in the collision were left to handle costly repairs themselves because of broad legal immunity granted to emergency responders.
At the time, police did not disclose how fast RPD Officer Beraldi Torres was going when he crashed. Police reports lacked his exact speed and said the officer crashed when a driver ahead of him flipped his turn signal on late.
Torres swerved to miss the driver but clipped the rear end of the car before careening into a row of parked vehicles on the right shoulder, the police report said. The driver told police he did not see or hear the officer's lights and sirens because he was playing music.
The PAB chased down GPS data for Torres' patrol car as part of an independent investigation into the crash.
RPD initially claimed its fleet of police cruisers were not equipped with GPS or speed trackers, according to the PAB's investigation report. PAB investigators working the case later discovered the GPS data was held by the county's Emergency Communications Department, not RPD.
It revealed Torres took off near the intersection of Vassar Street and Park Avenue at 84 miles per hour. Over the next minute, the officer raced down the corridor at speeds between 52 and 72 miles per hour. He was traveling about 69 miles per hour when he crashed near Rowley Street.
The speed limit citywide is 30 miles per hour.
Witnesses at the scene told officers they had nearly stepped into a crosswalk at the time of the crash and "would have just (been) killed" at the intersection. Park Avenue is a pedestrian-heavy corridor dotted with local restaurants, boutiques and apartments.
"I know there is no limit to the speed, but going through Park Ave., and if it's not an active pursuit -- it's just scary," they told an officer, according to body-worn camera footage reviewed by the PAB.
Will RPD officer face discipline for Park Avenue crash?
The PAB investigates cases of police misconduct but does not have disciplinary power. Still, in its investigation of the crash, the oversight agency found Torres violated RPD's emergency response driving policy, endangered the lives of citizens and brought discredit upon the department.
An internal collision report by RPD determined the crash was "avoidable," according to the PAB, and noted Torres received a memorandum of record in his file and was directed to review driving policies. The crash caused over $33,000 in damages to the officer's cruiser, the report said.
One woman interviewed by the D&C this spring said her car, one of the four civilian vehicles hit that day, needed about $7,000 in repairs. City officials denied her claim for help.
She continues to drive her battered Toyota with a taped-shut trunk and dented bumpers. "How is this OK?" she asked. "It's just like police destroyed all these vehicles and there's no repercussions, no compensation."
RPD has no obligation to accept the PAB's findings or the recommendation for discipline. Capt. Greg Bello said the agency reviews all PAB reports and any discipline imposed by the police chief is published on the RPD's discipline database.
-- Includes reporting by David Robinson.
-- Kayla Canne covers community safety for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on police accountability, government surveillance and how people are impacted by violence. Follow her on Twitter @kaylacanne and @bykaylacanne on Instagram. Get in touch at [email protected].
This story is part of Driving Force, a police accountability project meant to expose and document the prevalence of police vehicle accidents in New York. This joint investigation between USA TODAY Network-New York and Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications was supported with funding from the Data-Driven Reporting Project. That project is funded by the Google News Initiative in partnership with Northwestern University-Medill.