Video from the chase shows that Officer Louis "Law" Abner Jones did not turn on his cruiser’s lights to indicate that he was attempting to pull Tucker over, and that the man was stopping at stop signs and using turn signals. The police described Tucker ramming his truck into a police vehicle and then turning his wheels towards Officer Jones, however the family has cited the dashcam footage to dispute this claim.
Jones proceeded to shoot into the vehicle three times, hitting Tucker in the neck and his torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Officer Jones is trained and coached to twist the records, the facts, the circumstances to claim immediate peril, fear and harm to justify his unlawful actions and the use of excessive and unjustified deadly force," the family’s lawsuit stated.
They ultimately settled their suit for $100,000, but the death was ruled justified and Officer Jones was cleared of any wrong-doing.
Now, six years later, the man who took Joey Tucker’s life has taken to Facebook to mock the still-grieving family on their “Justice for Joey Tucker” memorial page.
Under the username “Law Jones,” the officer posted to the page: “What justice do you seek?” he asked in the comments. He continued on, writing, “please tell me what justice you want SO bad..that you settled this for 100k… when you started at 7.5 mill… speak to my face about what you want, what justice..your sons life was only worth 100k…[sic]”
“It’s sick. It’s like the way a serial killer taunts his victims,” Tucker’s sister Melinda told the Fifth Column News.
In 1995, Jones sued to get his job back after being terminated by a Citizens Review Board for allegedly attempting suicide in the driveway of a dispatcher’s home. The officer had reportedly driven erratically across the woman’s yard and threatened to crash his vehicle through her house.
Jones’ boss had determined that he was “not fit to be a police officer,” and was a “crazy man” who was “dangerous.” Jones won the lawsuit and was reinstated to the force. He received only a 6-month suspension for the incident.
