Portage, MI - Within three minutes after a sheriff's deputy tried to stop her car last week for speeding on South Westnedge Avenue, Juanita ...
Portage, MI - Within three minutes after a sheriff's deputy tried to stop her car last week for speeding on South Westnedge Avenue, Juanita Lee was dead. Dash camera footage from the cruiser of Kalamazoo County sheriff's deputy Craig Copeland shows he spotted Lee's car at 3:07 a.m. April 24 as it was headed south on Westnedge just south of I-94. Copeland, who was headed north, clocked Lee going 53 mph in the 35 mph zone and turned his cruiser around to make a traffic stop, according to dispatch audio and a sheriff's office report obtained by the Kalamazoo Gazette under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. Lee, 50, eventually turned her car west onto West Milham Road then pulled into a shopping center parking lot, where she stopped near a line of stores that includes ABC Warehouse, Kohl's and Old Navy. In the video, Lee can be seen getting out of her car for a short time. The dash-cam footage does not contain audio, but in his report Copeland wrote that Lee did not comply with his initial requests for her to get back in her car and he gave her the command "at least four times." "The driver began looking at me and then towards the Portage (Public Safety) car and then back at her vehicle," the deputy wrote. "At this time I drew my service weapon and again ordered the driver to have a seat back in her vehicle. "The driver then made a statement to the effect of 'I did nothing wrong' at which time she jumped back in the vehicle and fled southbound through the plaza parking lot." Copeland gave chase as Lee's car jumped a curb in the shopping center parking lot then headed south on Westnedge. In audio from radio traffic, at one point, the deputy says he's going about 75 mph as he pursues Lee. Copeland, who estimated Lee's speed at "80 mph plus" in his report, lost sight of her car near Westnedge and Romence Road. Just two minutes after the pursuit began, the dash-cam footage shows Copeland pulling his cruiser up to Lee's stationary car, which is crumpled and heavily damaged near the railroad tracks on the east side of Westnedge just across the street from Portage Public Safety headquarters. "There was extensive damage to the vehicle and it appeared it had been involved in a rollover accident," Copeland said. Lee had been ejected from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene. Michigan State Police, the agency investigating the fatal crash, said last week that Lee was not wearing a seatbelt and that it's unknown whether alcohol was a factor. Lee had a warrant out for her arrest charging her with a probation violation. A Kalamazoo County probation agent requested the warrant after Lee failed to report to her probation officer Feb. 25 and failed to make court payments stemming from a 2013 conviction for possession of less than 25 grams of cocaine. While state police are investigating the crash, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office report shows that sheriff's Lt. Jim VanDyken closed out his agency's investigation after reviewing Copeland's actions and finding the deputy was "within written directive and acted in an exceptional and professional manner." Less
