THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 30, 1995 TAG: 9501300045
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Hot Pursuit - Or Not?
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Sgt. Steven J. Mason knows what it's like to be in a high-speed chase.
In 1987, he was on a robbery-prevention patrol with another officer in Alexandria when a call came in reporting an armed holdup at a pizza shop.
``We decided to go up on the highway and watch for the vehicle, and lo and behold, there it was,'' said Mason, who is now spokesman for his department.
With the other officer driving and Mason handling the radio, and keeping tabs on where they were, the officers followed the suspect into neighboring Arlington and finally into downtown Washington.
It was a weekend night and the streets were crowded. Despite that, the fleeing suspect kept his foot on the gas.
``We probably exceeded speeds of 60 to 70 mph in Washington, and there were plenty of people out there,'' Mason said. ``We were scared to death.''
There were two accidents along the way, but no one was seriously hurt. Finally, the man wrecked and fled. He was caught.
Since then, Alexandria has adopted a restrictive policy on high-speed pursuits. Under current rules, even though that chase might have been allowed, the officers would have had wide latitude to end it.
``If I had had the option . . . I might have made the decision to break off that pursuit, knowing that everyone was OK'' back at the pizza shop ``and seeing what kind of danger'' the chase posed. But, back then, ``the thing was, you gotta go after 'em. You gotta go get 'em.''
Audio tapes of radio communications from that pursuit are still used to train Alexandria police. MEMO: Main story on page A1 and related stories on pages A6 and A7.
KEYWORDS: HIGH SPEED CHASE by CNB