Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995                   TAG: 9508210038
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                                LENGTH: Medium

MOM: POLICE AT FAULT IN SON'S DEATH

``They could have caught him another time,'' Linda Clark said. ``It was not like they were murderers or anything like that.''

Rashawn Clark, 20, was killed Monday when he lost control of his car, which hit another vehicle, jumped a curb, went airborne and came to rest at the base of a traffic light pole.

The crash ended a brief chase by officers who had warrants charging Sean Antonio Rainey, a passenger in Clark's car, with maiming and larceny. Rainey's neck was broken in the accident, and he was in serious condition Friday at Riverside Regional Medical Center.

The charges against Rainey stemmed from a January incident in which he and another man are accused of pistol-whipping a 21-year-old man and stealing his coat, police spokeswoman Patty Mahaffy said.

Rainey, 20, also was wanted for failing to appear in court on a felony drug charge last December.

Police knew Rainey was in the car with Clark because a detective had seen him earlier and ``knew there were warrants on file for him,'' Mahaffy said.

The detective radioed for a patrol officer to make an arrest. ``Once the car stopped ... the police officer stepped out of his car to approach the Honda,'' Mahaffy said. ``As he stepped out, the Honda drove off.''

Police chased Clark's car, which crashed about 11/2 miles away. Police searched the car and found several ounces of crack cocaine, some marijuana and a large sum of cash.

Police Chief William F. Corvello has ordered an internal investigation to determine whether the officers involved in the chase followed policy.

The department's policy says, in part: ``A police officer may engage in hot pursuit when the pursuit will not create an obvious danger to the safety of the public and the officer has more than a mere belief that the fleeing suspect(s) have committed a felony involving serious violence or injury.''

Mahaffy said Friday that investigators were still sorting out the incident to determine the identities of the officers involved in the chase. She said the investigation was put on the back burner this week because police were busy preparing for Hurricane Felix.

Keywords:
FATALITY