Ferndale Police shoot and kill driver after high-speed chase

A recent Ferndale Police traffic stop at the corner of Livernois and Marshall at about 1 a.m. last Thursday led to a high-speed chase. The driver that police were chasing would be pronounced dead just under five hours later. Ferndale Police pulled over the 1999 Mercury Cougar just south of the Ferndale downtown area. When police noticed bags that appeared to contain marijuana and a bottle of pills, Lazlo John Latits, the driver of the car, attempted to hide the suspected contraband. When the officer told him to stop, he sped off.

Multiple Ferndale police cruisers joined the pursuit, which led them south to Eight Mile Road and then east over to Woodward Avenue. Latits lost control of his vehicle and, after hitting several of the Ferndale police cruisers, crashed into a light pole, knocking it over. The car was still operable, and the driver rammed it into one police car before nearly backing over a Ferndale officer. The officer, in an attempt to avoid being run down, fired shots at the car, hitting the driver with three rounds.

Latits was arrested and taken by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The man's hometown has not yet been identified, and the officer who fired the shots has been put on paid administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.

Sources:

http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100624001