Police videos released in chase, crash that killed Durham County detention officer

Officers were trying to stop a Honda Accord on Aug, 2 that had been reported stolen at gunpoint from Alston Avenue earlier in the day. The driver sped off and was chased by police for at least 10 minutes, weaving in and out of traffic, running red lights and driving the wrong way down one-way streets.

Tomaris Lamont Parker, 33, of Durham, is charged with second-degree murder, felony death by vehicle, failure to stop at a red light and eluding arrest in a motor vehicle causing a death. He remains in the county jail under a $2 million bond.

Deshon Carrington, who police said was in the stolen Honda at the time, is charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle. he remains in jail under a $100,000 bond.

According to a search warrant obtained by police, Parker admitted to smoking crack cocaine and drinking alcohol before the chase.

The pursuit policy of the Durham Police Department limits chases to instances where police think the fleeing driver has committed a violent felony and that the nature of suspected crime poses a threat to the public or other officers. Chases are not allowed for non-violent crimes, impaired driving or if the driver is identified and can be arrested at a later date. Forcible stops are allowed in "extraordinary circumstances," according to policy, but stationary roadblocks are the preferred method to bring a chase to a halt.

WRAL News was part of a consortium of local news outlets that asked a court to release the police video in the interest of public transparency.