Cheerleader’s mother blasts cop for taking ‘the coward’s way out’ after killing 17-year-old daughter and 16-year-old friend in red-light crash

A mother has blasted a local police department for accepting the resignation of a police officer charged with manslaughter in the death of her teenage cheerleader.

The officer is said to have run a red light at 86mph during an unwise police chase and collided with Maggie Dunn, Liam Dunn and Caroline Gil’s car in a fatal accident.

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Police Officer David Cauthron was involved in a police chase shortly after the District Attorney called off the pursuit.

He then resigned from the force.

The City Council accepted his resignation, angering Maggie and Liam Dunn’s mother.

“So that they just let it [Former officer Cauthron] taking the cowards out of the way and they just taking the cowards out of the way sucks,” Erin Martin, the mom, told WAFB9.

“I mean, first of all, just being able to cancel and do it somewhere else sucks. I think he should have been released that day.”

Martin has been very critical of the police’s handling of their tragedy.

“I find [the police chief] should have had the decency to come and talk to us at some point after the accident,” she said.

“I feel like the way we’ve been treated throughout this whole thing was just wrong. I think our daughter deserves more dignity than that.”

Details of the crash

The crash killed former cheerleading teammates Maggie and Gill and seriously injured Maggie’s brother, Liam.

District Attorney for the 18th Circuit Tony Clayton said during a press conference that he wanted the police to “stop the friggin’ prosecution,” according to WAFB9.

“…I can’t understand why the officer ran a red light at such high speed,” Clayton said in a statement.

Former officer Cauthron was jailed after his arrest and posted his $100,000 bail.

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