Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008
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Grand jury clears Gulfport officer in crash
No indictable offense, report says
By ROBIN FITZGERALD
rfitzgerald@sunherald.com
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GULFPORT --
A grand jury on Thursday cleared a Gulfport police officer of criminal wrongdoing in a crash that injured a 74-year-old woman seven weeks ago.A partial report released by the District Attorney's Office stated the grand jury found "no probable cause to believe that any indictable offense was committed by Officer Bryan Watson."
Eleanor Mize was injured in a crash March 20 when Watson, with no blue lights or siren, ran a red light on U.S. 49 and collided with her car at 17th Street.
Watson was traveling 70 to 75 mph when his cruiser struck Mize's car, according to the report. Her estimated speed was 13 mph as she crossed the highway.
Police Chief Alan Weatherford said the DA's Office "looks on the criminal side" on such matters. "That does not change our position on the outcome of our investigation, which involves policies and procedures," said Weatherford.
The chief said his agency will "be finalizing our summary this week."
Watson was placed on a paid leave of absence but has returned to work in a "non-enforcement position."
Assistant District Attorney John Gargiulo, who presented the case to the grand jury, said the decision was the result of "a full investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, with an MBI investigator giving the grand jury all the facts from top to bottom."
According to the report and testimony of MBI Agent Roy Clingon, Watson was driving a marked patrol car at 10:30 p.m. when he was dispatched to assist Officer Mark Joseph with backup.
The report said the call involved "a high-risk traffic stop on a vehicle (Joseph) was following. Officer Watson did not initiate his siren or activate his blue lights in order to avoid alerting the suspects."
Watson was southbound when his car hit Mize's 1995 Lincoln Town Car.
The grand jury determined Watson failed to see the red light because he "could see Officer Joseph's unit ahead and his attention was focused on arriving to assist Officer Joseph."
Both Mize and Watson were injured. Mize was hospitalized several weeks. Her condition wasn't available Thursday evening.
