Who was grossly negligent in a violent crash between a speeding Warren police cruiser with no emergency lights and sirens and a pickup truck, whose driver was intoxicated with a suspended license, was at the heart of opening statements in a trial in Macomb County.
Former Warren Police Officer James Burke is on trial in Macomb Circuit Court in connection with the Sept. 30, 2024, deaths of Cedric Hayden Jr., 34, and DeJuan Pettis, 33. Burke and his partner, then age 34, were hurt in the crash.
Burke is charged with two felony counts of homicide-manslaughter with a motor vehicle and two misdemeanor charges in the crash.
Opening statements and testimony kicked off Wednesday, June 3, in what is expected to be at least a weeklong trial. A jury was selected on Tuesday, June 2, before Circuit Judge Jennifer Faunce. The family of the men killed in the crash filled half of the courtroom while supporters for Burke sat in the other half.
Assistant Macomb County Prosecutor Cory Newman told jurors the case is not about holding police officers to a higher standard, but about holding them to a standard under the law.
“A badge does not authorize gross negligence and recklessness,” he said, later adding: “A badge does not place anyone above the law.”
He asked the jury to find Burke guilty on all counts.
Burke’s attorney, Marc Curtis, told jurors: “This is a tragic story. Two people died, and we can’t take that back. The question before you is: Who is responsible for those deaths and the injury that occurred?”
Curtis told jurors that Hayden “was operating his vehicle in a grossly negligent manner.”
“He caused this accident. He is responsible” for the deaths and injury to Burke’s partner, he said.
Hayden and Pettis died when the police Ford Explorer that Burke was driving collided with their Dodge Durango. The men’s families have also filed lawsuits.
Burke was terminated by the department after he was charged, Curtis said after the start of a preliminary exam in the district court a year ago.
Curtis told jurors that the blood-alcohol level of the driver of the Durango, Hayden, was 0.198, more than twice the limit at which a driver in Michigan can be convicted of drunk driving.
Prosecution: Picture that is ‘clear and tragic’
Newman told jurors that three lives changed that day, and “two young men’s lives were cut short,” dead from “catastrophic injuries” caused by the crash, directly related to speed. He told jurors: “This case is about how that happened.”
Newman said evidence will show that just before 5 a.m., a police dispatcher broadcast about a stolen vehicle detected by a Flock camera system, which reads license plates. The vehicle wasn’t tied to a particular violent crime, such as a report of gunfire, kidnapping or anyone’s life was in danger, he said.
He told jurors they will see video evidence and hear dispatch records, officers’ testimony at the scene, experts who investigated and accident reconstructionists.
“They will paint a picture that is both clear and tragic,” Newman told the jury.
He told jurors that they will hear Burke was driving over 100 mph in a 40 mph zone and as high as 114 mph seconds before impact. Also, he told them, they will hear Burke never activated his emergency lights or sirens, “nothing to alert people sharing that roadway to the danger that was approaching,” or that a police vehicle was racing toward them.
As Hayden turned left onto a side street, the police vehicle slammed into the passenger’s side of the Durango at about 93 mph, a force so violent that Newman said it launched the Durango into the air multiple times before it crashed onto its side. He said jurors will hear how first responders pulled the men from the wreckage through the moonroof as the Durango was on its driver’s side.
Newman said Burke’s partner suffered numerous injuries, including a broken femur, 10 broken ribs and a concussion.
“Three lives shattered in an instant. Two men dead, one officer permanently changed,” he said.
Defense: Former officer not acting in reckless manner
Curtis told jurors that Burke had eight years of experience at the county sheriff’s office and Warren police and was the best driver on his shift. He said there had been ATM thefts, breaking-and-enterings from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. with Chrysler products commonly used.
A Flock hit came at 4:56 a.m. that day involving a stolen Jeep out of Sterling Heights with weapons inside, in the area and timeframe of the prior incidents. Burke and his partner started heading toward the area, Curtis said, trying to stop the vehicle before it got to Detroit.
Curtis told jurors that they will hear that officers are trained, they don’t always immediately turn on their lights or sirens. He urged jurors to look at the totality of the circumstances, including the time of day, road conditions, weather and what Burke knew at that time.
Curtis told jurors to watch Burke’s driving in videos, saying he’s not acting in a reckless, dangerous or gross negligence nature. He said there is no question that Burke accelerated and was driving at speeds the prosecution said.
Curtis told jurors the question is “why” this accident happened. He said without warning, the Durango was there with a driver with a 0.198 blood alcohol level, suspended license, making an abrupt turn in front of the police cruiser − a turn he told jurors that experts will say was illegal, to cut and beat the oncoming car. He told jurors that Burke tried to avoid a collision.
“Cedric Hayden was operating his vehicle in a gross negligent manner,” Curtis said, later adding, “He caused this accident. He is responsible” for the two deaths and injury to Burke’s partner.
Curtis said Burke was also hurt and has no memory of the accident past when it happened. He told jurors that if they determine Hayden was grossly negligent or contributing to the accident, Burke is not guilty.
The prosecution’s first witness was Warren Police Officer Rami Anees, who testified that Burke seemed distressed and shocked and that he helped Burke drag one of the men through the sunroof of the Durango.
Anees testified that Burke pushed him, and he gave him space but then helped him free the man. Anees also then testified that he cut the seatbelt and pulled the other man out of the Durango and performed CPR until fire personnel arrived.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Trial begins for ex-Warren police officer in violent crash that killed 2
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
