A Mississippi police officer has been suspended without pay after a chase that led to 3 deaths

BYHALIA, Miss. (AP) — A north Mississippi police officer whose pursuit ended in a crash that killed three people has been suspended from duty without pay.

Byhalia aldermen voted on Wednesday to suspend William Langham, WHBQ-TV reported, after he chased an SUV beyond the city limits on Jan. 4. The fleeing SUV crashed into a pickup truck. Killed were 30-year-old SUV driver Jaqua Bluiett, 43-year-old pickup truck driver Angela Davis, and 63-year-old pickup truck passenger Michael Crutcher. A second passenger in the truck was injured.

Langham denies wrongdoing. He’ll remain suspended at least until the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office completes its investigation.

“We presented our evidence that the officer did not engage in anything illegal, anything untoward or anything in violation of policy,” attorney Michael Carr told WREG-TV. “We stand behind what he did and we look forward to clearing his name.”

No one has said what led Langham to start chasing the SUV. The chase ended more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) outside the Byhalia city limits.

Taderio Woods, who lives at the crash site, told WMC-TV that he rushed outside when he heard a boom.

“When I came back, I saw that the truck was on fire. … We instantly went to go get the water hose and try and put the fire out, and we could hear people in the car,” Woods said.

Law enforcement agencies have long faced questions about whether the danger of some pursuits outweighs the value of the resulting arrests. Michael Caradine, a cousin of Crutcher, questioned why the officer would chase someone at high speed on a narrow country road.

“They should not have been chasing that man, this is a side street, man. It’s nothing but hills,” Caradine told WMC-TV. “They chased this guy running 100 miles an hour? Come on, man.”