Two former Memphis police officers indicted after deadly wreck during pursuit
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two former Memphis Police officers have been indicted, accused of causing a deadly wreck during an unauthorized pursuit last year, then leaving the scene of the accident without aiding the victims.
Marquavius Williams and Ontarian Malone Jr. are charged in the indictment handed down Thursday with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, four counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury and six counts of official misconduct.
The former Memphis officers resigned Thursday from the police department in Hernando, Mississippi, where they had worked since February.
The charges stem from an incident that happened May 6, 2023, resulting in the death of Jasmine Kinds and injury to several others, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that the officers used a police vehicle as a “battering ram to force a pursued vehicle to stop.” It also alleges the officers failed to operate emergency equipment during the pursuit and failed to report the pursuit.
A Peace Officer decertification request filed against Williams in March outlines a summary of facts from May 6, 2023:
“… Officer Williams and his partner were on patrol and observed a suspicious vehicle at a gas station. The vehicle drove away with Officer Williams and his partner in pursuit. There was no evidence or information this vehicle was involved in any type of crime; nor had its driver violated any traffic laws. Officer Williams was operating the patrol car and pursued this vehicle without activating blue lights or siren and failed to turn on his body-worn camera and/or in car video. No supervisor nor the dispatcher were notified and the vehicle being pursued wrecked out resulting in a fatality and multiple passengers being taken to the hospital with injuries. Neither Officer Williams nor his partner rendered aid to the vehicle occupants.”
The document does not make clear where the wreck happened. But on May 6 last year, WREG reported on a fiery, high-speed crash that killed a woman and injured four others on Park Avenue in Orange Mound. Police at the time said it may have been the result of a pursuit.
Woman dead, 4 injured in fiery crash on Park Avenue
Witnesses said a car was driving at a high speed when it lost control and hit another car. The second car spun out into a nearby tire shop and burst into flames. MPD requested Tennessee Highway Patrol to investigate.
MPD confirmed Friday that both officers resigned while under investigation, but declined to comment, citing pending litigation against both men.
Marquavius Williams resigned from MPD effective Jan. 5 this year without an administrative hearing, according to the POST documents.
Employment records state Malone and Williams joined MPD in 2019.
In fact, WREG spoke to Williams during his graduation ceremony. He was the first officer in the department’s history to join after first graduating from MPD’s clergy academy.
“I always wanted to be a police officer, always in my heart and along the way, I got into ministry,” Williams said in 2019.
Both men were sworn in as officers with the Hernando Police Department on Feb. 27 this year, and resigned Thursday, Hernando’s police chief confirmed.
Above: A photo from the Hernando Police Department shows the officers on the day they were sworn in, with Mayor Chip Johnson on the right.
We’ve requested the officers’ files and the crash report for more details.
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