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.

Letter to the Indy Star

I sent the following letter to the Indianapolis Star in response to an incident in which a pedestrian was stuck and killed by a police officer responding to a police pursuit. You can read the Indy Star article HERE.

Here is the letter to the editor in its entirety:

I found Indianapolis police Sgt. Matthew Mount’s comment in the Nov. 4^th article about the death of a pedestrian by a police officer responding to a high speed pursuit alarming. He explained, “Frankly, somebody jumping out in front of a police vehicle—with lights and sirens activated, operating within the parameters of what he’s supposed to be doing—is something you can’t control.” Sgt. Mount is wrong. The fact is the pursuit in which the officer was responding to should have never taken place. Police should not pursue suspects unless they are believed to be involved in a violent felony. Running a red light, as was the offense in this case, is not worth the risk of pursuing to both the police officers and the innocent public.

Sure, this also wouldn’t have happened if the suspect would have stopped when asked, but should law enforcement compound a bad decision by making bad decisions of their own? Police get in trouble when they lose control of the situation, and at no time in the career of a law enforcement officer are they less in control of events then during a police pursuit.

According to the Star, the IMPD can pursue for ANY reason. This is astonishing. Law enforcement must understand that a smart policy does not hinder their ability to do their job. Technologies such as helicopters, radios, video cameras, GPS, and the everyday computer ensures us that just because the pursuing officer loses sight of the suspects does not mean they will get away.

Often, police forget that their job is not to arrest people but to keep their community safe. Did they do it in this case? No.