More from Indy

More details have come out from the incident/pursuit in Indianapolis last week, when the fleeing vehicle ran into a daycare center. Luckily no one was killed. From the Indy Star:

"This one I wouldn't stick on the cops," said South Carolina University Professor Geoff Alpert, a frequent critic of police chases.

John Phillips, founder of the advocacy group PursuitWatch .org, said, "I don't have any problem with what they did."

...

Phillips of PursuitWatch.org said he wondered why the police didn't "come out and say, 'Yes, we chased them, and we should have.' "

Even in jurisdictions with the strictest pursuit policies -- such as Orlando, Fla., where officers are instructed to turn off their lights and turn around if a fleeing motorist is considered nonviolent -- chasing armed robbers is justified, he said

For the rest, click HERE.

"Car crashes into Northeastside daycare"

Yesterday, a fleeing Jeep clipped another car and ran, literally, through a daycare in Indianapolis. Luckily it looks like all the children who were hurt will survive, although one was injured critically. There seems to be some debate on whether it was a pursuit.

"I don't even know if this will go on the record as a police pursuit," said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Lt. Jeff Duhamell, who said it wasn't clear whether the officer who responded ever "got within a couple hundred yards" during the three minutes that elapsed between the time the officer spotted the Jeep and when it smashed into the brick side of Stepping Stones Child Care, 2511 E. 46th St.

While the police might be hesitant to call it a pursuit, the suspects have been charged with fleeing police. I was quoted in the article in regards to departments and their policies.

Police chases that end in accidents can be a sensitive topic for police departments. Experts said with each pursuit that ends in tragedy, departments are pressured to relax their chase strategies, and many have.

"It often takes some terrible event, but more departments are making changes every year," said John Phillips, director of Pursuit watch.org, a Web site that studies police pursuit policies. "It's sad but true.

To read the entire article, click HERE.