WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s office said that its Public Corruption Unit is investigating the actions of West Palm Beach police officers leading up to a deadly crash in Boynton Beach, according to a statement from spokesman Marc Freeman on behalf of the office.
The July 30 crash on N. Congress Ave. claimed the lives of Marcia Pochette and her daughter, Jenice Woods. Junel Pochette, who is Marcia’s husband and Jenice’s father, told WPTV’s Joel Lopez after the incident that his daughter had recently told him she was pregnant.
On its website, the State Attorney’s office describes the Public Corruption Unit as one that “prosecutes government employees, elected officials and others who violate the public trust.”
Seven West Palm Beach police officers are on administrative leave pending an internal affairs investigation, the police department says. Mike Jachles, a spokesman for the department, said the IA investigation will depend largely on the facts that emerge from Boynton Beach police’s investigation of the crash, which is still in its early stages.
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According to the arrest report from Boynton Beach police, Neoni Copeland was driving the car that collided with the victims’ vehicle. The report says Copeland ran away from the wreck and was caught knocking on doors in a nearby residential neighborhood.
The report says Copeland later told an officer he ran away “because he was scared.”
West Palm Beach police later said their officers were pursuing Copeland. It is not clear why they were pursuing him, or whether they called off the pursuit before the crash.
WPTV obtained a copy of the agency’s pursuit policy, which says officers are authorized to pursue only if they have a reasonable belief that someone inside the vehicle has committed a forcible felony, or if the officer reasonably believes the violator poses an immediate threat to people’s safety. The policy defines forcible felonies as serious crimes, such as murder, aggravated battery or carjacking.
Jachles said he couldn’t elaborate on the circumstances surrounding last week’s chase.
WPTV has requested copies of the supplemental reports written by officers involved in the pursuit. The policy requires all officers involved in pursuits to write these reports.
A search of public records in Palm Beach County show Copeland has no record of a criminal conviction, or even a speeding ticket.
WPTV reached out to his public defender but has not heard back.
According to Holly Picciano, the spokeswoman for the Boynton Beach Police Department, “Felony related traffic fatalities can take upwards of a year for the investigation to be complete.”
