Video Shows Chase That Clearwater Police Say Didn't Happen

William R. Levesque, Times Staff Writer
Tampa Bay Times
Apr. 28, 2013

TAMPA — Clearwater police officials insist one of their officers ended a high-speed chase of Keith Williamson before the motorcyclist was killed in a Feb. 20 crash on the Courtney Campbell Parkway.

"When it was evident that the vehicle was not going to stop, (the officer) called it off," Clearwater police spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts told the Tampa Bay Times in a Feb. 22 story.

On Friday, Watts reaffirmed, "This was not a chase."

But the dashboard video in the unmarked Clearwater police car that tried to stop Williamson shows Officer Nicholas Giordano was right behind Williamson with his car's flashing blue lights and siren engaged just a second or two before the fatal crash.

The video appears to contradict statements by Clearwater police to media outlets in the days after the crash and shows that the chase may have violated the department's policy on ending pursuits that do not involve violent felonies.

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