WEST PALM BEACH — The family of two women killed in a July 2024 crash during an unauthorized police pursuit has filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of West Palm Beach and seven former officers involved in the chase.
The complaint, filed Dec. 10, accuses the officers of violating pursuit policy, failing to report the chase and the crash, and leaving the scene without helping 57-year-old Marcia Pochette and her daughter, 27-year-old Jenice Woods. Both women died after a fleeing driver struck their car in Boynton Beach on July 30, 2024.
The pursuit began when a West Palm Beach officer tried to stop 23-year-old Neoni Copeland for a minor traffic violation near 45th Street and Australian Avenue. When Copeland sped away, the officer didn’t give chase. To do so for a minor traffic violation was against the rules, he told investigators later…