The Washington Post
July 07, 1998, Tuesday, Final Edition
Police Shoot Woman After Two-County Chase
BYLINE: Wendy Melillo, Washington Post Staff Writer
SECTION: METRO; Pg. D05
LENGTH: 522 words
A Stafford woman wanted for allegedly writing bad checks was
shot yesterday by a Fairfax County officer after she led police on a high-speed
chase that ended in the parking lot of a Woodlawn area shopping center.
Diana Elizabeth Tyler, 38, was flown to Inova Fairfax
Hospital, where she was treated for a neck wound and released. She was being
held without bond at the Fairfax jail.
Police said Tyler, who was not carrying a weapon, was shot
about 12:30 a.m. as officers struggled to remove her from her 1995 Oldsmobile
Achieva in the 8600 block of Richmond Highway. Authorities would not release
the name of the officer who shot Tyler or elaborate on the circumstances of the
shooting. The officer was placed on administrative leave with pay.
Tyler was charged in Fairfax and Prince William counties
with driving on a suspended driver's license and attempting to elude police.
Tyler was already wanted in Fairfax County for failing to appear in court after
being charged with writing a bad check. She also faces bad check and larceny
charges in Stafford and Fredericksburg.
Warren R. Carmichael, a Fairfax police spokesman, said the
investigation of the shooting could take several weeks to complete. He said the
results will be forwarded to the commonwealth's attorney's office for review.
"Given the circumstances of the chase, the fact that
weapons may have been drawn is appropriate," Carmichael said.
The chase began in Prince William County, where authorities
said Tyler was spotted driving 25 mph in a 45-mph zone and crossed a
double-yellow line three times as she headed north on Jefferson Davis Highway.
"Our officers thought she was drunk," said Sgt. Kim Chinn, a Prince
William County police spokeswoman.
Chinn said an officer signaled Tyler to pull over, and she
appeared to stop by entering the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. But
Tyler then allegedly drove around the officer's cruiser and headed south on
Jefferson Davis Highway. Two more police cruisers entered the chase and
followed Tyler into a used-car lot where she turned around again and headed
north, police said.
The officers chased Tyler at speeds up to 75 mph for 27
miles before she entered Fairfax County, police said. At the border, about four
Fairfax cruisers joined the chase and followed Tyler for 10 miles before she
turned into the the Engleside Plaza parking lot at Richmond Highway and Lukens
Lane, police said. As she tried to leave the parking lot, the officers blocked
her path with their cruisers and ordered her to get out of her car, police
said.
Fairfax County police said Tyler refused to leave her
vehicle, and one of their officers shot her as they tried to remove her from
the car.
Suzanne V. Suher, Tyler's attorney, declined to comment on
the shooting.
Tyler, who was born in Madrid, Spain, has been unemployed
for the last year, and she separated from her husband two months ago, according
to court records. She was charged in Fairfax County with writing a bad check
for $ 261.25 to a Lorton antiques store last Nov. 17. The check was returned
because the bank account had been closed.
Had enough? Write to the Speaker of the House, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 and demand federal
hearings into the police problem in America.
Demand mandatory body cameras for cops, one strike rule on abuse, and a
permanent DOJ office on Police
Misconduct.