Officer cautioned on danger of pursuit

Tremaine Wickem

GONZALES — The officer in the high-speed chase Tuesday that ended with the deaths of two alleged shoplifters who slammed into another vehicle, injuring its two occupants, had been cautioned by his supervisor during the chase to end it if it became too dangerous.

According to 911 dispatch recordings released Thursday, a Gonzales Police Department supervisor told the officer that if the situation became too dangerous he should abort the pursuit, which started at Tanger Outlet Center in Gonzales and ended with a head-on collision with the third vehicle on La. 30 in St. Gabriel.

“If it’s too dangerous, 10-22 it, you understand? If it’s too dangerous, 10-22 it,” the supervisor said. “You got a 28 already on the vehicle. We’ll cut a warrant if we need to.”

In police scanner code, 10-22 is the signal to disregard the assignment. A 10-28 is a vehicle registration request.

The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office released a 12-minute 25-second recording of the 911 dispatch that chronicled the chase, which reached speeds in excess of 90 mph, as well as recordings of 911 calls from the OshKosh B’gosh and Reebok stores at Tanger to report the shoplifting incidents.

The OshKosh B’gosh call came in at 10:41 a.m., followed by the Reebok call at 10:48 a.m.

Kevdrinka Williams, 25, of Baton Rouge, and Tremaine Wickem, 20, of New Orleans, were stopped by a Gonzales officer in front of the Nike Factory Outlet at the shopping center after they allegedly “stole a couple of pairs of shoes” from Reebok and after Williams “filled her purse full of stuff” at OshKosh B’gosh, the 911 recordings show.

While the officer was on the phone with the dispatch center, he reported that Williams and Wickem “just took off on me” in Williams’ 2002 Chrysler PT Cruiser.

The chase began about 10:55 a.m. and ended with the crash at 11:07 a.m.

The officer pursued the suspects along La. 30, requesting help from the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, and he later asked the dispatcher to call State Police and the St. Gabriel Police Department. Sheriff’s officials chose not to get involved. The crash happened before State Police and the St. Gabriel Police Department were notified.

Williams lost control of her vehicle soon after she entered St. Gabriel, according to the dispatch tape.

Along the way, the PT Cruiser and police car reached speeds in excess of 80 and 90 mph, the pursuing officer reported.

“(We’re) using the ‘do-or-die’ lane right now, speeds about 90 mph in the curve,” the officer said.

After receiving the warning from his supervisor, the pursuing officer reported light traffic and continued the pursuit at speeds in excess of 90 mph.

“We don’t have any traffic in front of me right now,” the officer reported.

The traffic came as the vehicles left Ascension Parish and entered St. Gabriel, in Iberville Parish. When Williams attempted to pass vehicles on the shoulder, she lost control of her car and collided head-on with a Toyota Tundra driven by Warren Porta III, 34, of Gonzales.

Williams and Wickem died as a result of the crash. Porta and his passenger, Bradley Nolan, 48, of Geismar, sustained moderate injuries, State Police said.

Gonzales Police Chief Sherman Jackson declined to release the officer’s name and said he will not discuss the case until the internal investigation is completed. He did say, however, that the officer remains on active duty.

On Thursday, Wickem’s family members said they did not know Williams, but it appeared Wickem got caught in a bad situation.

“Tremaine was not a bad child. He really wasn’t,” Jean Wickem, his grandmother, said in a telephone interview from her New Orleans home. “He just got tied up with the wrong person.”

His mother, Belinda Wickem, of New Orleans, said in a telephone interview: “I just think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

A recent graduate of Chalmette High School in St. Bernard Parish, Tremaine Wickem had no criminal history and was working on a degree in nursing, his grandmother said. She said he told her Tuesday morning he was headed to buy her a Christmas present.

Samantha Wickem, his aunt, also from New Orleans, said in a telephone interview that a family friend claimed Tremaine Wickem had called him from the speeding car, saying he was trying to get Williams to pull over and stop fleeing.

Williams had a prior misdemeanor theft conviction in Dallas in 2006 and was on probation after pleading guilty in Slidell in 2008 to felony charges of drug possession and obtaining a controlled dangerous substance by fraud, criminal records show.

“We know that is not of his character,” Samantha Wickem said. “We don’t know why he would make the decision to be in her presence, period.”

Attempts to reach Williams’ family members in New Orleans were unsuccessful. The injured people in the other car, Porta and Nolan, could not be located for comment Thursday.

Belinda Wickem, who said Gonzales police authorities “should have handled (the situation) better than they did,” said she saw the wreck on the news and knows her son was petrified at the end of his life.

“Every time I close my eyes, that’s all see,” she said.

Comments

1) Comment by love_dat_ramen - 29/12/2012

“I just think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Says the mother of Tremaine Wickem. And there you see the mentality of this "ain't done 'nuffin" generation. So sense of accountability. I'm just SO sure Wickem was being DRAGGED by the afro around the mall while Williams went on her stealing spree. Then he was dragged to the car. Right? Fact is, he was a WILLING participant in this crime, or an accessory in the least. The only people who can claim to be in the wrong place at the wrong time are the two guys who almost got killed by these two criminals!

2) Comment by watchdogg - 25/12/2012

Just 2 more young people following the Obama plan, The belief that everything should be free and not earned......

3) Comment by Duckyluve - 22/12/2012

If the dead criminals would have been at work none of this would have happened.

4) Comment by chem - 22/12/2012

It would be laughable if it were not such a serious subject. All the law & order types spouting their ridiculous rhetoric about getting the criminal at any cost. As someone else said, if their son, wife, parent, etc were killed because of an unnecessary high-speed chase, they would be crying a different tune. According to the report, the stupid cops new who they were and could have arrested them at some other time. No one is condoning theft, but it certainly is not worth catching the thieves by putting the public in danger with a high- speed chase, when they could be apprehended at a later time.

5) Comment by Ivy - 22/12/2012

@wadep66 and Bouncer: my comments would have been the same regardless of the race of the teens. And to take your suppositions a step further, if those teens had been blonde/blue- eyed, they would not have been chased and this conversation would not be taking place. Further, had those two teens been caught, the punishment would not have fit the crime, but would have been more harsh. If my comment was misinterpreted to seem callous of those teens, let me clear it up: All parents need to teach their children that material things DO NOT MATTER, in spite of what society and the media tries to tell them. It is an uphill battle to be sure, but one worthy to be fought.

6) Comment by wadep66 - 22/12/2012

Thanks Bouncer. I've suspected that as well. I wonder if these were two blonde haired, blue-eyed teens with no evidence of prior crime and the result was the same, if the opinions here would be so full of accusations and "they got what they deserved". If this strikes a nerve with anyone, they need to ask themselves why it does.

7) Comment by Bouncer - 22/12/2012

wadep66: some comments mask a deeper truth about some of these folks. In their heart of hearts, they simply see it as a case of two more dead N's who got what they deserved....and good riddance to them. Might as well tell the truth about the matter. Every black person, criminal or not, is not a "thug." They don't all carry guns, and when one commits a crime, that does not mean that they have committed numerous crimes in the past or will go on to commit worse crimes. It's a good thing that we can't punish anyone on the basis of what we "think" that they might have done in the past or will do in the future. Like I said, poor decisions were made from ALL parties concerned.

8) Comment by wadep66 - 22/12/2012

Well I just pray that no one here is ever killed by a cop or another vehicle in a high speed chase for a petty crime. I'm astonished that folks think that because they might do something worse in the future that this is justified. Since you have never sped, driven when they shouldn't, made an illegal turn, parked illegally or broken some other law you are apparently superior to those of us low-lifes who have. congratulations.

9) Comment by Costanza - 22/12/2012

Kevdrinka should not have tried to flee the cops. She is the one who decided to put everyone else driving on that road in danger. She and Tremaine paid the ultimate price for being criminals. Thankful nobody else was killed, and hope the truck occupants make a speedy recovery!

10) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 22/12/2012

“If it’s too dangerous, 10-22 it, you understand? If it’s too dangerous, 10-22 it,” the supervisor said. This is a CYA action that is drilled into every supervisor to make sure they or the Dept. aren't sued or held liable in case of a suit. It's like "Well I told the idiot not to do it" This why policemen are afraid to do their jobs. This is why cops get shot everyday. In a shooting situation they often hesitate for a few seconds to think "Am I going to get sued of fired over this?" The thug with a gun does not have this fear.

11) Comment by dtmosses - 21/12/2012

Lets say he quit pursuing and let these two go and this was a stolen car. Then later that day they carjack another person and commit armed robbery at another store which escalates to an innocent bystander being shot. Would you all be the same people saying the officer could have prevented a possible later act by catching them the first time? (in no way am i saying these 2 were capable of such an act). This is a terrible terrible accident whose fault was solely 2 young people who just weren't mature enough to realize the possible consequences. This is sad for all the people involved. And a lot of comments I am hearing and seeing are just a microcosm of our society heading the wrong way. Hindsight is 20-20. Hopefully decisions are not made due to this accident that can put my family in danger.

12) Comment by wadep66 - 21/12/2012

tradewinns, do you have some information not contained in the article? I'm not professing to. I'm going based on what I read. They were alleged to be shoplifting. Not murdering, not carrying weapons, not carrying a rolling meth lab. You spew such venom in your reply. Why? What do you know that we don't. Please share. If I'm being pulled over for speeding, does that justify a roadblock with armed officers in case I might have commited some other heinous crime? I don't understand your argument.

13) Comment by Woody - 21/12/2012

"The chase began about 10:55 a.m. and ended with the crash at 11:07 a.m." i can drive from tanger to st gabriel in twelve minutes and i don't have to drive ninety mph to do it. if the time line is correct this must not have been a dangerous high speed chase the entire time. maybe she stopped at all three of the traffic signals she passed through?

14) Comment by ScotB - 21/12/2012

You are judged by the company you keep. It's not like Tremaine didn't know Williams was shoplifting, so he was complicit. Choices have consequences and this time the cost was high. Two young criminals nipped in the bud. They chose to steal, they chose to ignore authority, they chose to flee at high speed. RIP.

15) Comment by Bouncer - 21/12/2012

They stole shoes from the Reebok store, and she stole children's clothing, which is what is sold in the OshKosh store. That makes the situation all the more unfortunate since she probably has left a child behind. I detest a thief as much as anyone, but still, I'm wondering why it was necessary to go on a high speed pursuit for a crime that involved no violence or innocent death. These two didn't have to die. They were criminals, but their crime was not of the vicious, violent sort, and judging from news accounts, they posed no threat to anyone. They could have been arrested later, but as I said, quietly issuing an arrest warrant isn't as exciting and Hollywood-dramatic as tearing out in hot pursuit with lights flashing, sirens blaring, and radio crackling. I think that some very bad choices were made by ALL parties concerned.

16) Comment by tradewinns - 21/12/2012

wadepp66: i guess you were there and KNEW FOR A FACT that whoever was driving this vehicle never had done anything wrong except shoplift. that being the case why didn't you tell the officer exactly who was in the vehicle and their exact crimes committed so he could have made a more informed decision. your statement " Sure, if they are on a murderous rampage and might seriously hurt or kill someone, please step up the efforts to catch and prevent that" shows you knew everything there was to know. i'd like to know how you knew and the police didn't? sure they had a tag number and vehicle description. all that will tell you is who the vehicle was last registered, not if it has been stolen by a gang of murdering rapist child abusers out for a fun time on society. their failure to stop could reflect a serious situation. as noone, not even you, explained things that night as well as they did the next morning the officer had to go with what he knew as a fact, they failed to stop.

17) Comment by BR is Ruined - 21/12/2012

Thank you wadep66, I couldn't have said it better. Always good to see people on here who can think farther than their nose.

18) Comment by matsaw - 21/12/2012

It's a shame that two young people had to die, the officer should have used better judgment and I'm glad the other people involved are going to be ok. The sad thing about this is the criminals family will become wealthy from all of this, which I think is total ***** They were killed in the act of committing a crime therefore I feel that no one should get a single red cent out of this except for the people in the other vehicle, however this will not be the case.

19) Comment by wadep66 - 21/12/2012

The police are accountable for public safety as well as enforcing the law. I suppose if the police opened machine-gun fire and sprayed bullets to catch these folks, it would be okay with some of you because "They shouldn't have stolen that so any collateral damage is totally their fault". ***** I've had friends (and their children) who were sprayed with pepper spray in a parade crowd because the police sloppily tried to subdue two people. That was a BAD decision and they were held accountable. There is a risk-benefit and judgement call that should be used in each case. Innocent bystanders have been killed in the name of catching petty thefts. Sure, if they are on a murderous rampage and might seriously hurt or kill someone, please step up the efforts to catch and prevent that. Stealing a few items worth less than a few hundred dollars does NOT justify putting lives in danger. If it did, we'd electrocute thieves. It's disappointing to see so little thought for what is really justice on these opinion columns.

20) Comment by Ivy - 21/12/2012

Heavy penalty to pay for vanity: the desire to look/act like you are more than what you really are; the desire to keep up with the Joneses. My sympathy lies with the policeman, the families who are grieving their children's poor choices, and the innocent victims who suffered from their choice. Parents, put down the cellphones and handheld computers and teach your children.

21) Comment by Tally - 21/12/2012

It's a good thing the innocent, injured men were in a Tundra and not a small car.

22) Comment by HiThere - 21/12/2012

Okay, the police officer said “(We’re) using the ‘do-or-die’ lane right now, speeds about 90 mph in the curve,” For the record, the only curve in that stretch of Highway 30 starts right before LA 74 and ends right at LA 74, so the crash had to happen just as the officer finished saying that statement, not giving him time to do anything different. Even if the officer had stopped the pursuit before the curve (and before Williams decided to use the 'do-or- die' lane), Williams (especially if she was not familiar with the area and more traffic at that intersection) would more than likely not have even slowed down in those few seconds. All she wanted was to keep from going back to jail; and she got what she wanted.

23) Comment by HiThere - 21/12/2012

Even if Wickem had no criminal record prior, he CHOSE to become a criminal that day. He also CHOSE (more than once) to get into a vehicle with another criminal. He could have at any time separated himself from her and taken the right path. He could have stayed right there in the parking lot when she chose to run. IF he tried to get her to stop the vehicle and she wouldn't, then he made an attempt to do the right thing, but he had already made too many wrong decisions that ended up costing him his life. I have a 20-year-old son and I know if something like this happened to him I would have to live with the fact that HIS bad decisions cost him. A person's decision to run from the police is no fault of the cop. By the way, Williams could have fled in the exact same way with nobody chasing her, just from paranoia and fear of being caught.

24) Comment by Bwaites985 - 21/12/2012

They died because they were stupid. No one else should take the blame. They made poor decisions and they paid with their lives, end of story.

25) Comment by Whatnow - 21/12/2012

My favorite saying that I always told my kids, "You lay down with dogs, you end up with fleas." It's a shame that Wickam didn't choose his friends wisely. The Gonzales Policeman shouldn't have been so aggressive because it was just luck that the two men in the truck weren't killed. It could have been a family with children. brlady61, they wouldn't have just "let them go." They would have been arrested at a later date. Bouncer has it right.

26) Comment by tradewinns - 21/12/2012

also, while i know absolutely nothing about the criminals, just because his grandmother makes a statement about her grandson does not make it a fact. she may be absolutel accurate on his record, or have her head in the sand.

27) Comment by tradewinns - 21/12/2012

i'm under the impression they had the car's lic. no., not necessarily who was driving. car's are stolen, and not reported till later. the police had a report of shoplifting and the description of the car. they stopped the vehicle and they then sped off. if shoplifting is only a minor offense, why did they run? the pursuing officer now has a fleeing criminal, that is truly all he know with certainty. he doesn't have the benefit of looking at the results the next day, he has to make a snap decision NOW! the officer is not to blame for a criminal's actions, they are. the supervisor made that cover your rump statement exactly for that reason, he's in the clear now. the other victims were the car wreck victims. i hope they both recover fully and sue the estates of the criminals. anything and everything they owned should now go to the wreck victims to compensate them for their losses.

28) Comment by Bouncer - 21/12/2012

I think that "louisisanared" has the right idea. There's a saying: God sees the truth, but waits. In this instance, I think that proverb could have applied to law enforcement. That is, the two suspects were identified and could have been arrested and prosecuted later. That's deferred gratification, if you will. However, I suppose a high speed chase is more exciting than quietly putting out a warrant for arrest. Consequences do not of necessity have to come immediately, especially for a crime as relatively benign as stealing shoes and clothing.

29) Comment by brlady61 - 21/12/2012

I am constantly amazed at the lack of consequences to the actions of criminals. If these two people had just PAID FOR WHAT THEY WANTED, they would still be alive to celebrate Christmas with their families. THIS IS NOT THE FAULT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT! Good Lord, people! Wake up!!!!!!! We can only assume this wasn't the first time they stole anything. So I guess the new way to deal with shoplifters is to just let them go? Come on. I am very sorry their families are in mourning, but this was their own fault!

30) Comment by Bouncer - 21/12/2012

Some of you should brush up on your reading comprehension skills before commenting. Pay close attention to the words you are reading and their meaning. Ready? OK, now, read this passage taken directly from the article: "Tremaine Wickem had no criminal history and was working on a degree in nursing, his grandmother said." What that means is that Wickem had never previously been convicted for theft, dope, or any other criminal activity. That is why his grandmother said he was not a "bad child" and committed the petty theft because he "got tied up with the wrong person." It happens all the time. An otherwise good person gets attached to a bad seed for some reason and in an attempt to fit in does things out of character. While I have no sympathy for a thief, at the same time, this is an unfortunate turn of events for everyone concerned.

31) Comment by louisisanared - 21/12/2012

BRlady61 - They would have been arrested later. They were identified and would have been brought to justice. I just do not think putting everybody's life on that highway over less that $300 worth of merchandise was worth the chase. Justice would have been served!!! People get your heads out of the sand.

32) Comment by louisisanared - 21/12/2012

I am not saying that police shouldn't chase criminals. But again, the police knew who they were and eventually would have been arrested. I am on the side of the "innocent", the other people driving on this highway. If it would have been a murder, armed robbery, etc, I say chase them, but these criminal stole less that $300 worth of merchandise. I travel that road almost everyday with my 9 year old niece. What if she would have been hurt or killed because an officer is chasing an identified subject who stole practically a candy bar. Wake up people before you are one the innocent hurt.

33) Comment by louisisanared - 21/12/2012

I believe the clue her for the pursuit to end was in the Officer's own words, "we are driving in the "do or die lane". If any of you saw the news on TV about this, you would have got a picture of what the wreck scene looked like. The PT Cruiser was unrecognizable. There was a motor to one of the vehicles in the middle of the road. That is how bad the impact was. Now if any of you think stealing a couple of pairs of shoes and a few clothes is worth ending anyone's life, especially the innocent occupants of the other vehicle. This was a misdemeanor and the officer had identified them. Cut a warrant and let the long arm of the law do it's job, but unfortunately officers need more training in controlling their adrenaline.

34) Comment by Woody - 21/12/2012

grandma, he was on the way to steal your christmas present, not buy it.

35) Comment by CountryBoysCanSurvive - 21/12/2012

****Comment Removed for Violation of Terms of Use****

36) Comment by markedwardmarchiafava - 21/12/2012

The suspect was guilty of the worst possible crime: contempt of cop. There's no way that Anointed One was ending the pursuit, it's against their religion.

37) Comment by welcometothebananarepublic - 21/12/2012

Wrong place, wrong time, wrong decisions, wrong actions. That plus prior convictions for theft and dope sound like a "bad child" to me.

38) Comment by billynurse - 21/12/2012

Tragic to lose 2 young lives. Officers who don't use good discretion or common sense will have things like this on their concience. However, these kids brought this on themselves. Think twice before being an idiot !!!

39) Comment by billynurse - 21/12/2012

Tragic to lose 2 young lives. If the officers don't use good discretion and common sense, they will have this on their concience. However, these kids brought it on themselves. Think twice before being an idiot!!!

40) Comment by Duckyluve - 21/12/2012

Dont steal or run from the cops and you will be just fine.

41) Comment by albermarle52 - 21/12/2012

Oh now the criminal is the victim? What a joke.

42) Comment by BRmoderate - 21/12/2012

The protection of life should ALWAYS be the first priority. Then the protection of property.

43) Comment by BRmoderate - 21/12/2012

Not one person here is saying that the blame for the accident rests of the police. But some of you are missing the fact that they knew the identities of these thieves. THEY WEREN'T GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THE CRIME. They may have been able to elude arrest for a little while longer but would ultimately be held accountable for their crimes. I am willing to trade a couple more days of freedom for a thief if it means no one will die.

44) Comment by Being_Stupid - 21/12/2012

Was the stolen merchandise returned to OshKosh B'gosh and Rebok? I'm just glad they were stopped before they hit the Nike Store too.

45) Comment by Being_Stupid - 21/12/2012

Why is Ascension Parish liable for an accident that happened in Iberville Parish?

46) Comment by JenniferW1126 - 20/12/2012

Everything his family says MIGHT be true, and if so it's very sad. BUT, it's like I tell my child.....if you associate yourself with bad people you are asking for trouble, and you just might find it!