A high-speed Bluffton police chase early March 7 that reached speeds as high as 110 mph led suspects carrying a stolen safe to damage a front wheel of their vehicle, ditch their car and then take off into the woods, according to law enforcement reports.
Officers chased and then arrested all four suspects with the help of a Jasper County K9 unit.
A mandatory Bluffton Police Department review completed Friday determined that the officer who initiated the chase faces minor policy violations for her pursuit, according to Bluffton Police Department Capt. Joe Babkiewicz.
Babkiewicz said that although the department is proud of the result, the officer in question, Amber King, violated department policy for initiating a chase after witnessing only a criminal traffic offense.
“An officer may not engage in a motor vehicle pursuit of a person who has committed only a non-violent felony, a misdemeanor, a criminal traffic offense, a traffic infraction or a combination thereof,” according to Bluffton Police guidelines. The rules do not prohibit an officer from giving chase after trying to halt a reckless driver if the driver ignores the officer.
The chase
Officer Amber King, who began in early 2019, was stationed on Fording Island Road doing traffic enforcement after 2 a.m. last Saturday when she observed a black Buick Lacrosse speeding at 69 mph in a 45-mph zone.
King wrote in her report that after she determined “the operator of the vehicle was driving recklessly,” she flashed her blue lights for the vehicle to stop. The vehicle failed to do so and increased its speed.
The pursuit began with King’s squad car and the Lacrosse reaching speeds above 100 mph, going from U.S. 278 before traveling north on U.S. 170 toward Okatie. At those high speeds, the driver of the Lacrosse tried to turn left onto U.S. 462, spinning the car and damaging its right tire, according to King’s report.
This photo from a dashboard video camera shows Bluffton, S.C., police chasing two suspect vehicles last year. Bluffton Police Department Submitted
The Lacrosse eventually pulled over, and all four people inside ran into the nearby woods. Two other Bluffton police officers joined King in running after the suspects, ending up in the arrest of three. A Jasper County K9 unit assisted in arresting the fourth suspect.
According to Babkiewicz, King will receive re-training for the pursuit and for failing to check the abandoned vehicle before chasing the suspects into the woods.
After all four suspects were apprehended, Bluffton police officers discovered a safe in the trunk of the Buick, with stickers from a Hilton Head and Bluffton business: the Local Pie.
The manager of the Hilton Head Local Pie confirmed to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office at 4 a.m. March 7 that one of the store’s glass doors was broken and the safe was missing. About $1,000 worth of credit cards were in the safe, according to a report from the Sheriff’s Office.
The driver of the car, Jaekwon Kyles, was charged with second-degree burglary and fleeing to evade arrest. Two of the other passengers in the back seat were also charged with fleeing to evade arrest. The fourth individual was a juvenile and was discharged to her family.
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
Jake Shore is a senior writer covering breaking news for The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. He reports on criminal justice, police, and the courts system in Beaufort and Jasper Counties. Jake originally comes from sunny California and attended school at Fordham University in New York City. In 2020, Jake won a first place award for beat reporting on the police from the South Carolina Press Association.
