EVERETT – Salesman Michael Waterman died last year when a man fleeing from a State Patrol trooper ran a red light and crashed into his car.
District Cmdr. Cpt. Robert Lenz recently determined that trooper Gavin Cohrs didn’t violate any department policies when he chased Thomas Bradley Schuerenberg on Dec. 15.
Schuerenberg, driving a stolen car, slammed into Waterman, who was driving home from his job at Sears at the Everett Mall. The Everett man, 29, died at the site of the collision.
Schuerenberg, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and earlier this month was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
An internal investigation was conducted into the action of Cohrs and his sergeant, along with a separate review by the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutors determined that Cohrs, who had been on the job about five months, did not break any laws when he pursued Schuerenberg.
Lenz reviewed all of those pieces to make his decision, he said.
“They evaluated the risks properly and (Cohrs) was not pushing this guy. He didn’t force him into the bad decision he made,” Lenz said.
Waterman’s family claims the trooper should have stopped the pursuit, and recently filed a lawsuit against the State Patrol and Schuerenberg in Snohomish County Superior Court.
“The danger to the public greatly outweighed the need for immediate apprehension of Schuerenberg who had committed a traffic infraction,” according to the lawsuit. “Trooper Cohrs and the (State Patrol) failed to exercise due regard for the safety of all persons.”
Cohrs reported that he attempted to pull Schuerenberg over after the Marysville man stopped about three-fourths of a car length past an intersection.
“He recently had stopped someone for something similar, and the people had alcohol in their systems,” Lenz said.
Schuerenberg failed to yield and ran through red lights at Beverly Park Road and Kasch Park Road.
He later told his father that “he thought (Waterman) would see him coming and see the police lights and stop.”
Schuerenberg was being sought by police for failing to appear in court on a separate charge of attempting to elude police.
“We have a huge responsibility, and sometimes you get a guy who just doesn’t care about other people,” Lenz said.
The six-minute chase went on a little more than five miles. Witnesses reported that Cohrs was about 300 to 450 feet behind Schuerenberg.
“If he had been right on his tail, my decision might have been different,” Lenz said.
Cohrs also believed that Schuerenberg would turn onto southbound or northbound I-5. He didn’t know he’d go onto Highway 526, where there are numerous intersections, Lenz said.
Waterman’s parents, Thomas and Betty Waterman, referred questions to their attorney Frank Siderius. He declined to comment.
Lenz said the trooper will not face any disciplinary action but “my decision doesn’t make him feel any better. This will be with him the rest of his life.”
Lenz said the crash has changed how troopers think about pursuits, and the department is trying to use new technology to avoid similar tragedies.
“The crash has impacted everyone’s lives forever,” Lenz said. “We can’t take it back. We can’t make it better for the Watermans.”
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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