New court filings and recently released body-camera footage show Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers acknowledged they took part in a pursuit shortly before a January 2022 wrong-way crash that ultimately killed Brittany Webb. Those admissions surfaced as the City of Charlotte asked a judge to shut down the family’s wrongful-death lawsuit before it ever reaches a jury, and the judge on Monday put off a ruling on that request. Webb’s relatives and their attorneys argue the recordings capture officers pushing ahead with the chase despite instructions from dispatch and a supervisor to stop, pulling CMPD directly into the story of the deadly collision.
As reported by WCNC, evidence introduced at a recent hearing includes officer statements and radio traffic that suggest the pursuit continued after someone on the air said the department “didn’t need to 43,” using the code for a vehicle chase. City lawyers urged the court to dismiss or significantly limit the lawsuit, arguing that questions of liability should be resolved as a matter of law rather than by a jury. The judge held off on that decision to allow additional written arguments, while attorneys for Webb’s family told the court that the footage and records show choices that put rush-hour drivers in harm’s way and therefore belong in front of jurors.
Body cameras show supervisors' orders ignored
The Charlotte Observer reviewed more than five hours of body-camera video and reports that officers Adam Earl and Matthew-Ryan Lerlo followed a Jeep off I-85 and onto nearby residential streets before the vehicle reentered Statesville Road and crashed head-on. According to the paper, CMPD Sgt. Michael Frazer can be heard at the scene telling officers “we don’t need to 43,” and later identifying Earl and Lerlo as the officers who continued the pursuit. “They never should have pursued him,” attorney Paul Dickinson told The Charlotte Observer.
Driver convicted; family seeks accountability
The driver, Bryan Gabriel Franklin Jr., later pleaded guilty and is serving a prison sentence for the crash, which seriously injured multiple people and led to Webb’s death, according to local reporting. As reported by WBTV, Webb’s estate and two survivors of the wreck filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in January 2024 that names the City of Charlotte along with Earl and Lerlo.
What’s at stake in court
Public records cited by The Charlotte Observer show that Earl and Lerlo were suspended after the crash, but a summary video CMPD released last year left out some of those details and the department has not fully released its internal-affairs findings. The plaintiffs argue their suit will test whether CMPD’s pursuit decisions and supervisory oversight followed the department’s own policies and whether a jury, not a judge, should weigh those facts. The city counters that certain actions are protected by legal immunities. Attorneys for Webb’s family say the ruling could affect how CMPD documents, evaluates, and publicly explains vehicle pursuits in the future.
The judge’s decision to postpone a ruling leaves the wrongful-death case in limbo, with both sides now preparing additional briefs before the court decides whether the family’s claims can go to trial. For the moment, the newly surfaced admissions and video have revived questions about CMPD’s chase policies and supervisory control, while Webb’s family continues to press for accountability.
