Family of 22-year-old who was killed by driver during 2020 police pursuit suing 4 sheriff’s offices involved in chase

BATON ROUGE – The mother of a 22-year-old who was killed by a driver during a police pursuit in 2020 has filed suit against the four sheriff’s offices that took part in the chase. 

On Oct. 26, 2020, a police chase started in Pointe Coupee Parish and went through West and East Feliciana parishes before ending in a fatal wreck in East Baton Rouge Parish. 

The crash killed 22-year-old Thaddeus Johnson Jr. and 17-year-old Stanlasija Brue. 

According to a release sent by representatives of the family, the chase involved “at least seven officers from three separate departments spanning four parishes, all in an effort to recover a vehicle allegedly stolen by a group of teenaged girls.”

Attorneys Ron Haley and Chase Trichell will be representing Meriam Smith, Johnson’s mother.