Horry County Police is being sued by a Florence County man who led them on a high-speed pursuit earlier this year for injuries he sustained after colliding into a church.
On the evening of January 8, a police officer on patrol in the vicinity of Conway made an attempt to stop 21-year-old Amir Catron Edwards for allegedly committing a traffic infraction. According to an earlier statement from HCPD, Edwards first pulled into a neighboring gas station before driving away once the officer got out of his vehicle.
According to earlier Sun News coverage, the fast-paced chase started along Highway 378 and continued into 3rd Avenue in Conway until Edwards’ black Nissan collided with the brick outer wall of Kingston Presbyterian Church.
In his lawsuit, Edwards claims that HCPD policies state that officers are not allowed to engage in a high-speed pursuit in this particular part of the county because it was “extremely congested” with other cars and pedestrians.
“However, (acting individually or in the direction of a superior), the officers consciously failed to follow the proper policies, procedures and protocols and operated police vehicles at a high rate of speed, chasing a vehicle veering in and out of traffic,” the complaint states.
County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov declined to comment on the case.
HCPD policy states that “officers will only engage in a vehicle pursuit when the totality of the circumstances outweigh the risk to the officer and the public.”
In a separate lawsuit filed last month, Kingston Presbyterian Church named Edwards and HCPD as co-defendants. The church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, said the cars reached speeds of up to 107 mph and that the damage to their building would cost a “large sum.”
Prior to being taken into jail, Edwards was reaching for a visible revolver in the back seat of the car when police arrived at the scene of the collision, according to HCPD. Before being taken to jail, he was taken to the hospital.
According to online court documents, Edwards entered a guilty plea to an unlawful weapons charge connected to the event, while charges for a misdemeanor drug offense and driving while suspended are still pending.
