The family of a bystander killed during a high-speed Orlando police chase stood alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump Thursday afternoon to call for the Orlando Police Department’s release of on-site footage from the night of the accident.
Gerald Neal was struck while an officer pursued a 2012 Nissan Altima with an “unreadable license plate,” according to an affidavit filed in the case against the driver. Neal, 56, was unhoused at the time of his death. His daughter, Shaquail Neal, said it was by choice during a period of inconsistent mental health.
She said a string of family deaths – including Gerald Neal’s wife, mother, son and brother – and the belief that he had turned into a financial burden for the family pushed him to the decision.
He spent only about two weeks unhoused before his death. Other family members would have taken him in, she said, but Gerald Neal chose to stay by the Holden Heights community he was familiar with.
“That was his way of grieving,” Shaquail Neal said while holding back tears. “It’s not fair. We want justice.”
As of the press conference Thursday, nearly two weeks since the Feb. 12 accident, the family said OPD still had not reached out to them. They said all of their information came from the hospital he was admitted to, not from the police department.
“How selfish to not even reach out to say sorry – my sympathies. Nothing. Like he meant absolutely nothing,” Shaquail Neal said.
Crump, who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, called upon OPD for “full transparency” in its internal investigation of the pursuit.
Initial statements from OPD and the Florida Highway Patrol say Detective Christopher Moulton started the chase.
Police arrested the driver of the Altima, 30-year-old Dornell Bargnare, on several charges, including aggravated fleeing to elude with serious injury, according to court records.
Crump questioned whether Moulton broke department pursuit policy. The attorney and family critiqued the officer’s decision to perform an extended pursuit because of a traffic violation. Officers are only supposed to pursue a fleeing driver when there is reasonable suspicion of a "forcible felony."
Crump said the release of body-worn footage and dashcam footage was vital for transparency in the case. “Transparency is good for everybody. It’s good for the family, and it’s good for the officer. If you want to exonerate him, then release the video,” he said.
Moulton was placed on administrative leave earlier this month. OPD, however, has not begun its internal investigation.
In a department statement released after the group’s press conference, OPD said Florida Highway Patrol is leading an investigation into the incident. OPD’s investigation won’t start until that’s completed.
OPD said FHP "has indicated they would prefer OPD refrain from releasing the footage at this time; any “body-worn camera footage and additional documentation” will not be released until after its investigation concludes.
The OPD statement revealed there is no dashcam footage. The unmarked vehicle Moulton drove was not equipped with a camera.
And, the release said the department would “make every effort to” meet with the Neal family.
Neal’s death comes as OPD vehicle pursuit practices are under heavy scrutiny. In another chase-related death, a suspect was arrested Wednesday in the case of a 2023 Orlando police pursuit that led to the death of Delmy Alvarez, a 28-year-old mother.
The department’s emailed statement said just 3% of drivers involved in a traffic stop have fled from OPD since January 2022. That would still make for about 4,650 instances in which an officer had to choose whether or not to pursue a fleeing driver.
OPD said only five incidents in three years were deemed in violation of its Vehicle Pursuits and Apprehension policy. Natalie Jackson, co-director of litigation for Ben Crump Law, said any violation of the policy means officers may not be getting taught the standards properly.
“What we are going to be looking at is to see if there’s any sort of systemic issues within the police department that allows them to do this thing, especially to the harm and detriment of Black and brown communities,” she said.
Gerald Neal’s funeral will take place early March in a South Apopka church.
