RUSHVILLE, Neb. (AP) - A special prosecutor has dropped misdemeanor charges against a former Nebraska state trooper involved in a pursuit that led to a deadly crash.
Sheridan County Special Prosecutor Joe Stecher filed a motion Thursday to dismiss Tim Flick’s misdemeanor charges of motor vehicle homicide and making a false statement under oath, the Lincoln Journal Star reported .
The charges stem from Flick’s role in a 2016 high-speed chase of an intoxicated motorist in Sheridan County. His trial had been set for next month.
Stecher didn’t elaborate on the reason for requesting the case’s dismissal.
Dashcam videos show Flick saying he used a tactical vehicle interaction, a move intended to bump a fleeing vehicle so it safely spins out. The car crashed into a ditch and rolled, killing the driver, 32-year-old Antoine LaDeaux.
Court records show that Nebraska State Patrol officials later changed the story, saying Flick’s car was struck by the fleeing vehicle.
A Sheridan County grand jury declined to charge Flick with a crime in December 2016. District Judge Travis O’Gorman then appointed Stecher to determine if any criminal wrongdoing had occurred during the chase and the investigation that followed.
Stecher filed the misdemeanor charges against Flick in February.
Flick said in a statement Thursday that he was concerned for the lives of the passengers in the fleeing vehicle and for the public. He added that he has “sadness for the family that lost a loved one.”
Flick had served on the patrol for 20 years before being fired in December for violating internal policy following a State Patrol investigation into the crash. Two other officers were demoted, a sergeant resigned and a lieutenant colonel retired following the investigation.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
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