Behind closed doors on Thursday, federal mediation got underway in the civil-rights lawsuit stemming from a high-speed West Palm Beach police chase that ended in a deadly Boynton Beach crash. The wreck on July 30, 2024, killed Marcia Pochette and her pregnant daughter, Jenice Woods, and attorneys for the families, the city and seven former West Palm Beach officers met privately to try to resolve the case. The session marks a new phase in litigation that has also brought criminal charges and scrutiny of an internal police unit.
As reported by WPBF, the meeting was set up as a federal civil-rights mediation focused on the families’ push for accountability and compensation. Victims’ attorney Scott Smith told WPBF the families have made a “significant demand” on behalf of the surviving spouses, and said their legal team will file a response to the city’s motion to dismiss if no settlement comes out of the talks.
What the lawsuit alleges
The federal complaint, which seeks roughly $10 million in damages, alleges that officers violated Pochette and Woods’ civil rights and that the City of West Palm Beach failed to properly train, supervise and discipline the officers who pursued the driver. WPTV reported that the suit describes a pattern of risky, off-policy pursuits that the families say led to the July 2024 crash.
Ghost unit background and criminal case
Reporting by WLRN has traced internal complaints and disciplinary records tied to an undercover “GHOST” unit inside the department and found a string of prior concerns about the officers involved. Prosecutors charged seven former West Palm Beach officers in June 2025 in connection with the pursuit, and those criminal cases have been moving forward alongside the civil litigation.
Prosecutors say surveillance video shows three police vehicles approached the wreck, then turned around and headed back to West Palm Beach without rendering aid or notifying supervisors, a sequence that figures in both the criminal complaints and the families’ civil claims. As WPBF reported, driver Neoni Copeland’s car struck the Toyota as it was turning into a Boynton Beach neighborhood; Copeland has faced state charges tied to the collision.
Legal implications
State prosecutors say the three officers who were driving face two counts each of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a first-degree felony, along with counts of official misconduct, while four passenger officers were charged with official misconduct. WPTV and other outlets note all seven have pleaded not guilty and were later fired by the department.
What’s next
Mediation gives both sides a chance to settle the civil claims over training and liability without spending years in court, although the criminal prosecutions will continue regardless of any agreement. If the talks fall apart, the families’ lawsuit will press ahead in federal court while state prosecutors continue to pursue the criminal cases against the officers.
