THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502130068
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
Studies of police pursuits in three states show that up to 39 percent result in collisions, and at least one in 100 end in fatalities, like the chase on Jan. 21 that killed two at a downtown Norfolk intersection.
The studies were in California, Illinois and Michigan. The California and Illinois researchers found that about 10 percent of police pursuits end with the accident victims injured.
The California study of 683 pursuits was published in 1983 by the state's highway patrol. The Illinois research, by the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois, was compiled in 1991. And Michigan's study is still being refined at Michigan State University by a Dennis Payne, a former Michigan state trooper.
Payne found that in Michigan during 197 pursuits, five police officers were injured, 20 suspects were injured and eight innocent third parties were injured.
Across the nation, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration reported, 924 people died in pursuit-related collisions from 1989 to 1991. Of these, 737 were killed in the vehicle being pursued and nine were police officers. More than 170 were innocent third-party victims. In 1990 alone, there were 314 deaths and 20,000 injuries.
These statistics and numerous lawsuits filed each year because of pursuit-related collisions are causing police departments in metropolitan areas to institute highly restrictive chase policies.
In particular, police departments are concerned that arrests made after pursuits are not worth the dangers faced by police officers, suspects and innocent third parties.
In the Norfolk crash, William L. Rosbe, 50, and Theresa G. Timms, 40, were in a car rammed at a downtown intersection by a van being chased by state troopers. Both Rosbe and Timms died instantly.
Timms, of Virginia Beach, had been a business executive. Rosbe, a Richmond lawyer, flew more than 200 combat missions for the Marines in Vietnam.
The driver of the van, Arnold O. Peterson of Virginia Beach, had been pursued for 15 miles after a Virginia Beach officer running radar caught him speeding on International Parkway in Virginia Beach.
It was the kind of pursuit that is no longer allowed by the Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami and its suburbs.
``Now we don't pursue without a forcible felony,'' said John Farrell, chief of criminal investigations with the Metro-Dade department. ``Even when there is a forcible felony . . . you are balancing what is to be gained against any potential injury or death. And you must opt in favor of public safety.''
Geoffrey Alpert, a professor at the University of South Carolina, has devoted 10 years to the study of police pursuits and has written two books on the subject.
``These things are very, very dangerous, regardless of length and speed,'' he said. ``A traffic violation is not worth the risk of life or limb. . . . The model pursuit policy says not to chase traffic violators.''
Policies that restrict pursuits are as important as policies that make it difficult for police officers to fire their weapons, Alpert said.
``Police have been very severely restricted in the use of firearms, and that has been a good thing for law enforcement and the public,'' Alpert said. ``Restrictions covering vehicles have not been forthcoming, but that needs to be done.''
Alpert said a trend toward restrictive pursuit policies is well under way. In addition to Miami, he said, Baltimore, Atlanta and Philadelphia have put in place policies that are designed to reduce police chases.
But the trend is too new to compare how the restrictive policies affect things like arrest rates, crime rates and other statistics. Alpert says that he is conducting a study that will compare cities.
Although pursuits may be dangerous, they are also effective in catching criminal offenders, the state studies indicate.
In Illinois, for example, almost 74 percent of pursuits resulted in arrests. And in California 77 percent of pursuits ended with the suspect being caught and arrested. No research could be found for Virginia.
But cities that restrict pursuits don't necessarily have drops in arrest rates, according to Farrell of the Metro-Dade police. He said there has been no decrease in the number of arrests in Miami even though the number of pursuits has plummeted since his department's policy was changed three years ago.
``I can say with all honesty that we are still making arrests, felony arrests and robbery arrests,'' said Farrell. ``I can also say that the number of pursuits and accidents has gone way down. . . . The fear that there would be anarchy in the street was unfounded. It hasn't happened.''
Farrell said Miami rewrote its policy after two elderly women were killed when a suspect being pursued ran a red light after a pursuit of about 35 miles. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that the county could be sued in the case.
Prior to the policy change, Farrell said, most pursuits started with traffic-law violations.
Other court cases have also changed the way localities view their police pursuit policies. In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court found that a municipality could be held liable if it had not provided its police officers with enough training to prevent serious injury or death.
Since then, many states have restructured their driving policies and instituted or upgraded driver training.
Steve Caruso, director of publications at the Northwestern University's Traffic Institute, said the trend toward restrictive chase policies by law-enforcement agencies has gained steady momentum.
``We've gone beyond the point where restrictions are unusual,'' Caruso said. ``We just can't take the heat anymore. People are getting killed.''
Caruso said that most departments have created situations where supervisors are given a great degree of responsibility, making it difficult for them to allow pursuits to continue for very long.
``The supervisor thinks, `I'm not going to be responsible for someone being killed,' '' Caruso said. ` ``We'll get the description of the car and its license number and get the guy later.'
``People are realizing we're getting into the arena of deadly force,'' Caruso said.
``These are lethal missiles flying down the street,'' said Farrell, who has been a police officer for 25 years in Florida. ``In this day and age it is really something that you have to think about.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
PURSUIT STUDIES
STEVE STONE/Staff
Shown are the results of studies of police pursuit done in three
states.
Calif. Ill. Mich.
Number of
pursuits studied 683 700 197
Percent involving
collision 29 % 38.7 % 32.5 %
Percent involving
injury 11 % 10.9 % NA
Percent involving
deaths 1 % 1.7 % 1.5 %
NA - Not available
KEYWORDS: POLICE CHASE POLICE PURSUIT by CNB