A University of South Alabama police officer has lost his job following a car chase on campus that ended in a collision, university officials confirmed.
The pursuit began on a Saturday when a campus officer attempted to stop a vehicle displaying an expired tag. According to university spokesman Bob Lowry, the chase ended in a crash at the intersection of Westgate Road and Bit and Spur Road. Two people were riding in the vehicle being pursued, and two more were in a separate vehicle that was struck when the fleeing car reached the intersection.
A subsequent investigation determined the fleeing vehicle had been stolen from a business on Montlimar Drive and that officers found roughly seven grams of marijuana inside. The 17-year-old driver of the vehicle was taken to the Strickland Youth Center following the crash.
The officer involved, identified by the university as Edward Fabian Jandreau, was placed on paid administrative leave immediately after the incident while investigators reviewed whether the pursuit violated the police department’s chase policy. That review concluded with Jandreau’s employment being terminated on Dec. 9, 2014, Lowry said in a statement.
The University of South Alabama Police Department’s pursuit policy allows officers to engage in chases only when the need for immediate capture clearly outweighs the danger the pursuit itself creates, and states that such situations should be limited to the most serious incidents. The policy specifically discourages pursuits for traffic violations, misdemeanors, lower-level felonies and property crimes when those are the only factors involved, and requires that the circumstances justifying a chase exist at the moment it begins.
University officials released additional details about the incident over several days following the crash, including confirmation that the pursued vehicle was stolen, information about the marijuana found inside it, and clarification of the exact crash location. The case highlights the balancing act campus police departments face between public safety enforcement and the risks created by vehicle pursuits, particularly near residential and heavily trafficked areas of the Mobile campus.
No further details about the officer’s tenure with the department or any prior disciplinary history were released. The university’s police department continues to patrol the campus and surrounding areas under its existing pursuit guidelines.