DECATUR, Ala. — The family of 16-year-old Jaiden Rashad Dejarnett has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Decatur, and several police officials, including Mac Marquette, nearly two years after the teenager’s death during a high-speed police pursuit.
That incident dates to September 2023.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, alleges that Decatur police officers initiated an unnecessary 40-minute chase that reached speeds exceeding 135 mph over a minor traffic violation—driving without headlights or taillights. The pursuit ultimately ended in a fatal crash that killed the African American teenager…