Pursuit Safety
Born May 13, 1997, Krystofer was our oldest son, blessing my husband (Ken) and myself with his joyful and loving presence. I often say, my heart did not know what Pure Love was until Krystofer was born. It was a love like nothing I had ever felt before. Krystofer was an awesome and loving big brother, role model, to his younger brother’s (Matthew and Kenneth). Our 3 precious sons enjoyed spending brother time together, especially laughing at memories, listening and creating music together. One of the last memories our family has of the 3 of them being together was them playing music together on their chosen instrument. They were even exploring the possibility of creating a band together.
As any child, Krystofer grew up having various favorite things in life: from loving penguins, to owls, to Star Wars to eventually finding passion as a music journalist. He loved the band KISS, hence the choice Krystine Sixteen as part of his social media identity, Slam Dance with Krystine Sixteen.
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Krystofer was bold! With his mind set, he refused to let others hi-jack his dream and goals. Music journalism was his dream which he discovered at the young age of 10. By age 21, he was well on his way by establishing himself as a passionate and charismatic personality in the realm of music journalism.
Flourishing in the early years but meeting major rock stars like Alice Cooper, KISS, and Slipknot.
He even went out of his way to attend an 80’S alternative band concert at a local performing Arts Center here in our hometown of St. Louis and gifted me with a video of Tom Bailey the lead singer of the Thompson Twins saying, hi to me and I missed a great show. Krystofer said, at the beginning of the video, this is for you mom, I love you. I will forever cherish this token of love, especially now.
This passioned turned to be a voice a vehicle to promote and support local and unestablished bands. Another favorite pass time of Krystofer’s was to decorate for Christmas and Halloween. Our home and yard were lavishly decorated thanks to Krystofer’s creative enthusiasm. As he grew older, Halloween took precedence and Christmas decorating wasn’t as fun for him. Our home would look like Halloween Town. The neighbors and their kids would often slowly drive by to take in this splendor and even take pictures.
It was definitely a time of year that filled his heart with joy.
November 20, 2021, our family asked family, friends, and the community to come together to participate in a peaceful demonstration highlighting the tragic consequences of police pursuits. The goal of this demonstration is to invite our community’s leaders to have an honest discussion regarding pursuit safety and the accountability lacking in today’s public servants.
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Our loving effort for pursuit safety in our community is all for the love of Krystofer and all those killed by senselessness tragedies in our community.
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If you would like to learn more about Krystofer’s legacy here are his social media links:
November 17, 2018, our family as we knew it came to an end. This day was one to be celebrated for our son Matthew’s 20th birthday, but it was taken away from Matthew and his family by the unthinkable. A senseless tragedy. A State Highway Patrol Officer and a St. Charles County Police Officer arrived at our home with tragic and devastating news all families dread to hear. The State Highway Patrol officer had to tell us, that a suspect was fleeing from the police Krystofer was killed.” My husband says, it was horrible for him, because he had to hear it 3 different times. He was home by himself when the officers arrived so he was the 1st to receive the news. Then Kenneth arrived home from spending the early part of the day with his girlfriend. Finally, Matthew and I made our way home after doing clothe shopping as part of Matthew’s birthday gift. We all received the news at different times but it bestowed the same tragedy for each of us. This heartbreaking and catastrophic news dismantled our family’s way of existing, in an instant! The rug had been pulled out from underneath us.
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Krystofer was innocent bystander. He did nothing wrong. Krystofer had just left his friend, Cody’s home after a missed attempt at meeting Jack Osbourne (Ozzy Osborne’s son). Jack had an abrupt conflict, so their venture ended early. Krystofer told Cody he was going to head home to help his family celebrate Matthew’s birthday. As he was leaving Cody’s neighborhood, he came upon a red stop light. When the light turned green, Krystofer entered the intersection and his Ford, Focus was struck by the suspect fleeing the police in a Dodge, Durango, which forcefully crushed his car into a light pole. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
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Tragic. Senseless. Preventable.
Police pursuits often end with deadly results. Why is this acceptable?
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The police mantra is to ‘protect and serve’ the community. Who was there to protect Krystofer that day? The suspect received a 15-year sentence with the possibility of parole. However, no accountability exists for police officer’s who’s reckless and irrational decisions ended with tragic and fatal results. Why is this acceptable?
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Our family has been in the court system for 3 years without closure. We desired to have an open honest discussion regarding Krystofer’s tragedy but were repeatedly denied by the St. Charles County Police Department. Therefore, our next step was to enter the judicial system to have our case heard on proximate cause and police accountability. Our case was never heard as the local, appellate, and Missouri Supreme Court dismissed our case due to qualified immunity. Why is this acceptable?
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It is not acceptable. Our mission is to bring awareness and shed light upon the imperative danger of police pursuits. We are not alone. Our collective voice needs to be heard to invoke change. We welcome a fresh and honest discussion regarding qualified immunity during police pursuits. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, sons, and daughters (our loved one’s) lives matter and never should be considered collateral damage! In a sense, these innocent bystanders die while in the line of duty. Is recognition given to them or the family for a life taken? This is not acceptable.
Police Pursuit Safety Resources
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We have grateful hearts for the people dedicating their lives to police pursuit safety.
Our family wholeheartedly supports the work being done at pursuit safety and pursuit alert.
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Please educate yourself about the dangers of police pursuits with the following resources:
