THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 30, 1995 TAG: 9501300057
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Hot Pursuit - Or Not?
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 267 lines
One of the most dangerous decisions a police officer makes is when to pull the trigger. An equally fateful choice can be when to press the accelerator.
High-speed pursuits, a staple of cop movies and crime shows, are not Sunday drives, and they don't always end in glory with the bad guys caught and the officers as heroes. In 1993, the last year for which national data is available, 343 people lost their lives because of pursuits - 62 of them innocent bystanders.
``That vehicle can be a deadly weapon . . . as deadly as pulling the trigger,'' said Sgt. Steven J. Mason of the Alexandria Police Department, which has one of the most restrictive pursuit policies in the nation: Unless a suspect has already hurt someone or is intending to do so, pursuits are not allowed.
That's because high-speed chases - called ``hot pursuits'' in police parlance - ``can be more dangerous than a gun,'' said Mason, commander of his department's public information office.
``When an officer fires a gun, you're not going to have that bullet make a U-turn and come back at him,'' Mason said. ``When the officer puts his foot on the accelerator, he could very well end up killing himself,'' or innocent citizens.
On Jan. 21 in downtown Norfolk, two people died after a high-speed chase that began in Virginia Beach. A Richmond attorney and a Virginia Beach woman were killed when the car they were in was slammed broadside by the van that was being chased.
All agencies involved in that pursuit - Virginia Beach and Norfolk police and Virginia State Police - are reviewing the case. But there's been no evidence that any officers failed to follow department pursuit policies.
The deaths have stirred up a debate locally, however, that's simmered from time to time all over the country.
When do the risks of pressing a high-speed pursuit outweigh the benefits of catching a criminal?
Should suspects be pursued with vigor if they are wanted only for traffic violations, stealing vehicles or other property crimes?
Are there ways to catch fleeing suspects without chasing them down highways and streets?
If rules are tightened severely, isn't there a danger criminals will see hitting the gas as their best chance for eluding capture?
Should drunken drivers, with their established record as highway killers, always be pursued and stopped?
For police, it's a classic damned-if-you-do or -don't, situation.
When pursuits end in disaster, people blame officers for not halting the chase. Yet, if they give up a pursuit and the suspect goes on to kill someone anyway - or a vicious criminal escapes - citizens complain that police let them go.
Last April 4, a Denton, N.C., police officer was chasing a car for a traffic violation. The driver wouldn't stop. The officer maintained the high-speed pursuit long enough to get a license plate number and then broke it off.
Despite that, the driver didn't slow. Several miles down the road, racing along at 90 mph, the car crossed the center line and slammed head-on into a car carrying five people. Everyone in both cars was killed.
On the other side of the coin, many high-speed pursuits conclude successfully.
Some police agencies are trying to strike a balance: known, dangerous criminals are pursued, but in cases of traffic violations or property crimes, high-speed chases are not allowed.
``Most of the policies I've seen over the years are very, very specific and only allowed high-speed pursuits in the most unusual circumstances,'' said Wolfgang Pindur, a professor of urban studies and public administration at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. ``They are almost as specific as policies relating to police officers using a firearm.''
Pindur, who has studied the operations and management of police departments, said the common theme is simple. All are designed to force officers to weigh the risks of a chase vs. the threat posed by letting a criminal get away.
According to Alexandria's policy: ``Officers should view the initiation of a pursuit in the same light as a potential use of deadly force.''
And supervisors are supposed to make sure the rules are obeyed, Mason said. ``If there is any fogginess about the decision, the supervisor will set them straight.''
Alexandria's new policy came into force in early 1993.
``We were looking at what the national trend was,'' Mason said. ``And what we were seeing every day was that officers were getting into high-speed pursuits and people were getting injured. What is somebody else's life worth when it comes to a stolen car? Cars get stolen every day and they get recovered every day. People get killed every day and they don't get recovered every day.''
And in America, where lawsuits are as common as the cold, there's another concern.
``An officer's liability extends not to just what he does, but (also to) what others do as a result of what he does,'' Mason said. Thus, innocent people injured by someone being pursued by police can seek damages from the police, even if they didn't cause the accident.
A $10 million suit already has been filed over the deaths in the Norfolk crash. Thus far, only the man charged and the company he worked for have been named as defendants, but the attorney said he also plans action against all three police agencies involved.
Despite a near prohibition on high-speed pursuits in Alexandria, criminals do not rule the streets, Mason said.
``Officers use a little more strategy and think about how they are going to attack the situation,'' he said. ``We may set up a perimeter or follow along on adjacent streets and try to anticipate where the (suspect) is heading and cut them off at the pass.''
But doesn't a decision to let a criminal flee go against everything a cop is supposed to do?
``There was a lot of resistance, a lot of skepticism, from officers thinking we were just going to let the bad guy go,'' Mason said. ``But police officers are not trained to get the bad guy at all cost. They are still charged with protecting life, property and also themselves . . . to be able to live to fight another day.''
Training is critical, no matter the department's pursuit policy.
``You've got a lot of issues that troopers are faced with on a daily basis, whether it be drawing a weapon and having to defend lives or to make a decision on a pursuit,'' said Capt. Don R. Martin of the Virginia State Police Academy near Richmond.
In training troopers, ``We impress upon them that this is a job where you have to make decisions that affect a lot of people's lives,'' Martin said.
State police - and local officers, too, through police academies - get intensive training on how to mount a pursuit, how to establish running road blocks (where police vehicles surround, slow and stop wanted vehicles), and when to give up a chase.
Driver training is a combination of classroom work and, most important, many hours spent behind the wheel on a training course ``in pursuit scenarios where they can be taught the skills and have a chance to practice.''
Everyone goes through the training, regardless of their prior experience. ``We start them at ground level,'' Martin said. ``And they get periodic refresher training at in-service schools.''
Hell-bent pursuits are the exception. ``There are relatively few chases that are ever done at high speed,'' ODU's Pindur said. ``Relatively few lawbreakers take off like that.''
But tougher laws, particularly those aimed at drunken drivers, may be playing an unintended role in increasing the number of pursuits.
In Virginia, for instance, drunken drivers know they may lose their licenses on the spot for seven days when arrested for DUI; and on conviction, they face high fines, jail time and skyrocketing insurance premiums.
The man charged with killing two people in the Jan. 21 pursuit in Norfolk had been convicted of DUI, was awaiting trial on another DUI charge and was, police allege, drunk on the night of the chase.
``When they thought they could beat the rap with a good lawyer, they never thought about running,'' said a Virginia Beach police officer who asked that his name not be used. ``Now, they have second thoughts. Some push it. They take off figuring they'll be no worse off for an eluding charge than they were with a DUI and reckless'' driving charges.
It is, he admits, a highly dangerous situation.
Still, the seven-year veteran said he's leery of policy changes that might let someone get away simply by hitting the gas.
``When someone doesn't stop, you have to wonder why,'' he said. ``Are they just drunk and afraid of a ticket? Did they just rape a women? Did they just kill someone. They have a reason to run and we don't know it. . . . I don't like not knowing.''
He's been in numerous pursuits over the years, he said, but none that he considers ``excessively high speed.'' And while he said he would give up a chase if it became too dangerous, he wouldn't be happy about it.
``Look, I don't want to kill anyone or push it to the point where the guy I'm chasing kills someone,'' he said. ``Hell, I don't want to kill myself for a stolen car. But I don't want to let some lowlife who's just raped my neighbor's daughter get away, either.'' MEMO: THROUGH THE EYES OF A WITNESS
DAVIS BRADLEY was waiting at a red light at Duke Street and
Brambleton Avenue the night of Jan. 21. A van hurtled down Brambleton
from behind him and into the intersection, crashing into the car of
William L. Rosbe, killing him and a passenger. Bradley, haunted by what
he saw, wonders why two police officers in a cruiser nearby did not try
to keep Rosbe's car out of the intersection. Norfolk police say the
officers did all they could, and did stop some motorists, but lacked
time to do more. Related stories on pages A6 and A7.
DEATHS IN POLICE PURSUITS
High-speed chases are considered one of the most dangerous actions in
which police can become involved. Sometimes these chases kill not only
police officers and whomever they are chasing, but also innocent
bystanders.
For complete statistics in chart see microfilm.
THE POLICIES OF PURSUIT
Alexandria Police Department
March 15, 1993
When operating an emergency vehicle in a pursuit situation, the
primary concern of the operator must be the safety of him/herself, other
motorists and pedestrians, other officers, and the violator.
Each individual officer will determine the need for a pursuit to be
initiated. Officers should view the initiation of a pursuit in the same
light as a potential use of Deadly Force. Pursuits are permitted under
the following circumstances:
When an officer has reasonable grounds to believe the suspect has
committed, or is attempting to commit, one of the following felonies:
Murder; Rape or other felonious sex offense; Abduction; Robbery;
Felonious Assault; Arson involving death or serious injury; Burglary
involving one of the crimes just mentioned; or
When an officer has reasonable enough grounds to believe the suspect
has committed, or is attempting to commit, a crime which involves the
display or use of a firearm, even of such crime is classified as a
misdemeanor.
Even when the above conditions have been met, the officer must
consider the following factors when determining whether to initiate,
continue, or terminate a pursuit: time of day/day of week; location
(schools, business districts, residential); nature of charges; weather
conditions; road conditions; speed involved; condition of vehicles
involved; volume of traffic (vehicular and pedestrian); visibility;
officer's driving capabilities.
In some circumstances, the decision to abandon a pursuit may be the
most prudent course of action. . . .
Virginia State Police
Jan. 1, 1993
The law grants operators of emergency vehicles exemptions from
certain traffic laws. However, these exemptions do not relieve law
enforcement officers of the duty to operate their vehicles with due
regard for the safety of others. The protection of life and property
must be the primary concern in all emergency vehicle operations.
When deciding whether to undertake or continue pursuits, officers
should consider both the potential harm to persons and property arising
from the pursuit as well as the potential harm threatened by the
escaping offender. The factors to be examined in making this decision
should include, but not be limited to, the following: the seriousness of
the violator's offense and its relationship to community safety; the
time, day and location of the pursuit; weather and roadway conditions;
vehicular and pedestrian traffic or presence; familiarity with roadway;
capability of pursuit and pursued vehicles; pursuit speeds; evasive
tactics employed by violators; other available means of apprehension,
such as obtaining a warrant for identified violators or use of aviation
support.
Virginia Beach Police Department
Oct. 13, 1987
Forcible measures to physically obstruct a fleeing driver who has
demonstrated that he does not intend to be stopped carry a substantial
risk of fatality and shall not be employed except in circumstances where
deadly force can be justified in conformance with Department orders.
Further, such measures shall not be initiated, or shall be immediately
discontinued, if they are likely to endanger innocent persons. These
principles shall govern at all times when implementing this General
Order.
Before taking up pursuit, personnel shall be expected to consider and
weigh existing circumstances, i.e., gravity of the offense for which the
fleeing subject is wanted, road conditions, weather conditions, level of
traffic, makeup of the area, whether the person can be apprehended at a
later time, etc. The object, of course, is to provoke thought as to the
wisdom of initiating pursuit. It is conceivable that after considering
these factors, personnel may decide to engage in pursuit.
During the course of pursuit, any deliberate contact between the
suspect and police vehicles such as forcing the pursued vehicle into
other vehicles, ditches or any other obstacles, heading off or ramming,
or driving along side of moving suspect vehicle will be prohibited
unless expressly authorized by a supervisor. The decision to utilize a
rolling blockade shall rest with the operator of the primary unit or a
supervisor. The use of fixed roadblocks, including a rolling blockade,
shall not be employed except in circumstances where deadly force can be
justified. . . .
When available, the helicopter shall join the pursuit.
Officers involved in pursuits must continually question whether the
seriousness of the violation reasonably warrants continuation. A pursuit
shall be discontinued when there is clear danger to the pursuing
officers or the public.
ILLUSTRATION: Color map by Adriana libreros, Staff
Chase into the city
Graphic
Anatomy of a tragegy
KEYWORDS: HIGH SPEED CHASE ACCIDENTS TRAFFIC FATALITY by CNB