Belleview News-Democrat

I was asked to comment for a article in yesterday's Belleview News-Democrat concerning the use of video equipment in police cars. Illinois State Police have required troopers to activate their dashboard cameras whenever they turn on their emergency lights. If they fail to do so, they face punishment.

You can read the story HERE.

John Phillips, executive director of Florida-based PursuitWatch, which promotes safer police driving, said law enforcement agencies should post clear policies that limit high-speed chases and responses to violent crimes.

That policy must also be backed up by proper driver training and oversight, Phillips said.

Last year in Illinois, for instance, seven people died because of police pursuits: five were occupants of the chased vehicles, while two were occupants of other vehicles. None was a police-car occupant, according to administration figures.

Belleville News-Democrat Again

In another article concerning the Illinois State Police, Mike Fitzgerald of the Belleville News-Democrat asks: "Can the Illinois State Police properly investigate itself?"

I had a small quote in his article, but it got the point across:

John Phillips, executive director of PursuitWatch, which promotes safer police driving, said the state police must show whenever possible that their investigation is as transparent as possible.

"They need to be willing to open up when asked," Phillips said. "They need to say, 'Absolutely, here's what we know.'"

You can read the rest of the article HERE

Belleville News-Democrat

Here is a story from Sunday's Belleville News Democrat in regards to police driver training.

Firearms training is a big deal for the Illinois State Police.

Which is why state troopers must go to a shooting range every three months to requalify in the use of their handguns.

But the only formal training state troopers receive in the handling of their vehicles, including high-speed pursuits and emergency responses, occurs during their days as Illinois State Police Academy cadets, according to Master Sgt. Brian Ley, a state police spokesman.

Otherwise, their driver's training occurs on their own, during the thousands of miles troopers log each year.

The failure of the state police to ensure more and better driver's education for its troopers is an all-too-familiar story that has resulted in scores of needless deaths each year nationwide, according to John Phillips, executive director of Florida-based PursuitWatch, which promotes safe driving techniques for police.

"The problem here is that in a 25-year career, an officer on average will shoot their gun once," Phillips said. "And in that same time period, 80 percent of their time on the job is spent in their car. Yet when we look at training, it's overwhelmingly in the use of their handgun."

The question of how much training police officers should receive to drive their vehicles safely has been raised following a crash along Interstate 64 near Scott Air Force Base that claimed the lives of two Collinsville sisters -- Jessica Uhl, 18, and Kelli Uhl, 13.

Continued HERE.

This also got picked up in the AP article you can read HERE.