The Associated Press
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -- A man has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a police officer who was killed while pursuing him in a high-speed chase.
Christopher Ward, 28, rammed his car into a patrol car outside of a bar and twice nearly hit another before speeding away and triggering the chase Oct. 25, prosecutors said.
Rookie Officer Daniel Starks, 21, of Cape Coral, was killed when he ran a stop sign in his car and collided with another patrol car during the chase. The driver of the second cruiser, Officer Steven Gruber, 28, suffered minor injuries.
Although the Florida Highway Patrol determined the accident was caused by Starks’ running the stop sign, prosecutors said Ward can be held liable for the officer’s death because he was fleeing the scene of a felony when the crash happened.
Ward’s attorney, David Brener, said the charges, which were filed Monday, are a stretch.
“Mr. Ward is not the cause of the officer’s death except in the most general sense,” Brener said. “This couches liability for a criminal act _ for homicide _ when there was no intent for anyone to die.”
Ward also is charged with two counts each of resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer.
Starks first joined the agency as a volunteer Police Explorer when he was 16. He worked as a community service aide before becoming a police officer last August.