Two years after 30-year-old Amari Smith was killed when a driver fleeing Milwaukee police blew a red light and slammed into his car, his family is back at the intersection where it happened and now in court as well. This week, his mother, Shanita Hill, filed a lawsuit against the city of Milwaukee, Police Chief Jeffrey Norman and Officer Fernando Vences, arguing that the department’s vehicle pursuit policies put innocent bystanders like her son in the line of fire.
Family Remembers Smith at the Crash Site
At a modest roadside memorial near the intersection where Smith died, Hill told reporters the anniversary “never gets easier” and said she believes officers failed to “serve and protect” her son. In the complaint, Hill and her attorney, Sean O’Malley, argue that Milwaukee police pursuit practices led directly to Smith’s death and that the chief “generated a state-created danger” by allowing the current policy to remain in place, as reported by TMJ4.
What Happened the Night Smith Died
According to police, officers tried to stop a speeding vehicle near North 24th Street and West Burleigh on Feb. 25, 2024. Surveillance video shows the fleeing car racing through a red light at North 20th and West Burleigh, where it T-boned Smith’s vehicle, killing him at the scene. Charging documents identify the fleeing driver as 40-year-old Robert Jones, who was arrested on the spot. Investigators say a firearm was found inside his car, according to reporting by FOX6.
Jones later took a state plea deal in June, pleading guilty to fleeing an officer resulting in death and to possessing a firearm as a felon. He was sentenced in August 2024 to 14 years in prison, according to court coverage reported by WISN.
Policy Changes and the Debate Over Pursuits
Hill’s lawsuit reaches back to a 2017 Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission directive that pushed the Milwaukee Police Department to broaden when officers can chase fleeing vehicles. Critics say that shift opened the door to more high-speed pursuits on city streets. The commission’s 2017 move, the public fight that followed and later watchdog findings that pursuit counts and risky chases rose after the change were all noted by CBS58.
What the Lawsuit Says and Next Steps
The new complaint names the city, Chief Jeffrey Norman and Officer Fernando Vences and seeks damages while arguing that the department failed to rein in a pursuit program that attorneys say “exploded” after the 2017 policy changes and state-level shifts in authority, according to advocates who spoke to reporters. The city attorney’s office has declined to comment on the pending case, and the lawsuit will now move through the courts as both sides prepare filings and begin discovery, TMJ4 reported.
Family and Community Reaction
Smith’s relatives have kept his memory in the public eye with vigils and a posthumous recognition from local schools. Hill says the lawsuit is not only about her son, but about forcing policy changes so other families do not get the same late-night phone call. Local officials and public-safety experts say the core challenge is finding a balance between restraint and accountability on the streets. Observers note that any ruling in Hill’s case, or any resulting policy change, could reshape when and how Milwaukee police authorize vehicle pursuits in the city, a developing dynamic covered by Wisconsin Watch.
