Tallahassee, FL : Ocoee officer suspended, docked pay for chase, crash on Thursday, December 22nd 2016

An Ocoee police officer involved in an on-duty crash that broke both arms of a female motorist in May has been suspended for 80 hours without pay, the department said Thursday.

Officer Chris Bonner was going 90 mph while chasing armed-robbery suspects outside city limits with lights and siren on, an internal investigation shows.

He was northbound on Orange Blossom Trail crossing Holden Avenue in Orange County when he passed another police car that slowed down. Bonner blew through a red light, slamming into the woman as she drove through the intersection.

Bonner's cruiser rolled over. The woman's car spun around at least five times, video shows.

The woman, Yahaira Castro Montalvo, 26, suffered two broken arms. Bonner also was hurt. Montalvo was on her way to work at Wal-Mart when the crash happened just before 5 a.m. May 12.

Her attorney, Bryan Crews, called Bonner's punishment "a slap on the wrist" in light of the injuries she suffered.The Florida Highway Patrol ticketed Bonner for running the red light. That case is pending.

The internal investigation showed he violated the Ocoee Police Department's vehicle pursuit policy by not slowing down for the red light.

"Officer Bonner failed to properly clear the intersection, causing his patrol vehicle to crash into another vehicle," the internal investigation concluded.

Bonner lost 40 hours of pay and had to take another 40 hours of pay from his vacation-day bank, police said.

The incident began about 4:30 a.m. when Altamonte Springs police were searching for the suspects. A stolen cellphone was tracked to Apricot Drive and Ocoee Hills Road.

An officer saw the car and started following it. The vehicle started fleeing at Good Homes Road and State Road 50, and that's when Bonner joined the chase.

Police never caught the car.


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Ocoee officer suspended, docked pay for chase, crash