The new legislation focuses on how police conduct vehicle pursuits, and brings all the county’s police departments under the same standard.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. — Gina Pryor spoke in front of Prince George’s County Council on Monday morning on behalf of her granddaughter, 3-year-old Zoey Harrison, and the new law that carries her name.
“The Zoey’s Law exists to save lives,” she told the Council.
Zoey was killed back in March. Authorities say she was killed after 40-year-old Larry Naylor smashed his car into Zoey’s mother’s vehicle along Addison Road while he was fleeing police in Capitol Heights.
Pryor says her family has struggled with the loss ever since.
“It’s one day at a time, one second, one minute…it’s one day at a time,” she said.
Last month, Naylor was charged with vehicular manslaughter.
On Monday, the Prince George’s County Council passed legislation that aims to address the events that led to Zoey’s death.
Zoey’s Law requires municipal police agencies in the County to follow the same standards as county police when it comes to police pursuits. The standards limit pursuits to situations involving felonies, violent misdemeanors, or imminent threats to others.
Zoey’s law also requires mandatory reporting of vehicle pursuit data.
Once signed by County Executive Aisha Braveboy, Zoey’s Law is expected to go into effect early next year.
Council Vice Chair Krystal Oriadha says these deadly pursuits are happening too often in the County, and can’t be ignored.
“At that time, we’d also lost two other residents in a similar circumstance within a month of each other,” Oriadha pointed out. “It really touched my heart as an issue we had to address.”
However, Oriadha says Zoey’s Law is just one half of the county’s work.
The Councilmember says she’s also working with State lawmakers to introduce legislation in January that would charge anyone who evades the police with a felony if evading leads to a fatality.
“We are not only looking at holding the police accountable,” she said. “We’re also looking at working with the state to hold these people that’re evading police, that’re leading to these tragic deaths, responsible as well.”
Meanwhile, Pryor says while her granddaughter is gone, her spirit remains, and she’ll make sure that Zoey is not forgotten.
“My voice will stand for Zoey, and will continue to speak for her as long as I’m here to speak for her,” Pryor said.