WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — Some would say mother of four Brittny Turner's life was perfect. She got married on Aug. 5, 2022, on her birthday in Hawaii.
"I was traveling, living my life, enjoying myself with my family, with my children," she said.
But in a flash, her life changed. On June 8, 2024, on 8 Mile and Mound roads around 9 a.m., she was in a terrible crash.
"My light turned green, I proceeded to the route and I remember getting hit from my back end. And I remember saying 'God, you can't take me like this. I got kids,'" Turner said.
Turner's SUV was on fire as Warren police arrested the suspect following a high-speed chase.
Details I gathered through the Freedom of Information Act including the dash camera footage show the chase that lasted for miles began in Warren at Runey Drive and Marlow Drive.
See the dashcam and body-cam footage in the video below
Officers made a traffic stop because the suspect's vehicle had no license plate. Video shows police chasing the Dodge Charger through a number of neighborhoods, with several other units joining in with lights and sirens. The pursuit ended when the fleeing suspect smashed into Turner's BMW along with three other vehicles.
It's a site that still gives Turner chills.
"Broken pelvis in three places. I have a hard time sitting for a long time. That's why I'm shaking like this. I have nerve problems, I have a fractured jaw, memory loss, three broken toes. I can't wash or wipe myself, right arm or hand. Warren PD has to pay for this," she said.
Through her attorney, Turner has now filed a $60 million civil lawsuit against the city and the department's police officers involved in the chase, seeking emotional and physical damages.
"I feel like the system failed. Warren PD failed and they are here to protect and serve," she said.
The most recent crash involving Warren police was not a pursuit, but it was deadly. It was the early morning hours of Sept. 30 when a Warren scout vehicle traveling at high speeds crashed and killed 34-year-old Cedric Hayden and 33-year-old DeJuan Pettis.
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Their families have also filed $100 lawsuits against the city and its police department. Pettis' family filed on Tuesday and Hayden's family filed on Oct. 4. According to a complaint, a Warren police vehicle going at an excess of 100 mph collided with the SUV the two men were in.
"It seems like a weekly occurrence where they are just flying by, sirens blaring the majority of the time, and it's only a matter of time before something happens. And unfortunately, something did happen," said a witness, who wished to remain anonymous.
The witness, who did not want to be identified, works for a company on Prospect Avenue and Schoenherr Road and saw the aftermath of the Sept 30 crash.
"I'm fully aware that they have a job to do in a timely manner and some situations are extremely critical, but I would like to see something in place where at least restricting the speed that they travel," he said.
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Meanwhile, Detroit-based activist Oliver Gantt's son also got injured last year when a suspect fleeing from Warren police rammed into his son's car.
"The chases are excessive; they are not warranted. Especially there is negligence when you are flying down the street in your squad car and somebody has an accident and you have no siren on. Detroit streamlined their policy saying we are not going to do chases, we are not causing accidents, we are not killing people over here. Warren is a different story," Grantt said.
I also requested to interview Warren police several times, but they refused for weeks due to pending litigations. On Wednesday, the department finally held a press conference. Lt. John Gajewski said the department would not be commenting on the incident involving Pettis and Hayden.
Hear from Warren police responding to the lawsuit in the video below
Gajewski says they never received a complaint from Turner.
"The public needs to see how this lawsuit contains inflammatory buzz words included solely for the purposes of gaining media attention and harming the reputation of the hardworking men and women in this police department," Gajewski said.
Gajewski says contrary to the lawsuit, police lights and sirens were activated throughout the pursuit and the lawsuit has no merit as Turner's vehicle was never hit by a police unit. But as the dashcam footage shows, the lead police unit was roughly 19 seconds away, which is why Turner says she never heard the sirens or saw the lights.
I asked Gajewski how he'd respond to comments about the crash never happening if the pursuit never took place.
"That's a very valid point. I watched this video and I see our officers doing what our residents expect us to do," he responded.
I also asked him at what point would a pursuit end, as the one with Turner went through residential neighborhoods.
"Again, a pursuit going on a residential side street is not an automatic disqualifier," Gajewski said.
I was able to obtain a copy of the Warren Police Department's pursuit policy. However, the Prohibited Practices section is redacted.
"This is ridiculous. It's too many families suffering," Turner said.
I also reached out to Warren Mayor Lori Stone for an interview, and her team says that since this is a police policy and procedure-related matter, the police department will be best qualified to answer my questions. Also, Warren police's new commissioner, Eric Hawkins, is set to take charge in December.
I asked Turner "if you had an opportunity to ask the new commissioner a question, what would you ask him?"
"How are you going to change? What are you going to change? What if this was your daughter or your grandchild — how would you feel?" she responded.
