Thursday, May 26, 2011

Dayton Daily News

Recently Warren County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Dulle died during a police pursuit. Police were chasing a 22-year-old who had stolen a car when Sgt. Dulle placed stop-sticks in the path of the fleeing vehicle. The suspect went to the side of the road and struck Dulle at an estimated 100 MPH. Denise Callahan of the Dayton Daily News wrote Pursuits a necessary evil of law enforcement, officials say:

John Phillips’ sister died nine years ago when she got in the middle of a police chase. The Florida man and his family created PursuitWatch.org a website advocating restraint and offering research and other information about high speed police chases.

His family helped rewrite the protocols for police pursuits in Orlando and Orange County, Fla., so chases aren’t initiated unless the suspect is accused of a violent crime, he said.

“Their duty isn’t necessarily to arrest the bad guy, that’s not why they are hired,” Phillips said. “They are hired to protect us. To protect and serve is the motto we always hear. It’s the ability to understand that just because I don’t arrest this guy right now, doesn’t mean I’m not protecting and serving. In fact, I might actually be doing that by not chasing a bad guy.”