Once a pursuit starts neither the suspect or the officer has much control over the outcome. Which is the most compelling reason why the use of police pursuits must be very limited. All pursuits are extremely dangerous. We have had a few instances over the years where officers attempted to stop a car and the driver fled and even though the officers chose not to pursue the suspect vehicle was still involved in an accident injuring an innocent party.
My agency has a very restrictive policy regarding police pursuits and while we debate provisions of the policy frequently with an eye toward improving the policy the majority of our officers do not disagree with the basic premise of the policy which strictly limits pursuits to those incidents involving a violent incident.
The officer makes a very important point. Mistakes happen when L.E. is not in control of the situation. By definition and by nature, police pursuits cannot be controlled to the point where safety can be assured. To continue:
I have been a police supervisor for twenty-five years (officer for 29 years) and currently I supervise a training squad. One of the points that I and the Field Training Officers emphasize about driving, whether it be pursuit, police, or personal, is how little control the driver really has over events external to their vehicle. We do this to encourage Officers in Training to recognize the dangers involved in driving and to learn to exert the maximum amount of control in those areas where they have the most impact.
I had the opportunity to review more of your site and I do agree that it is not a police bashing site. Your arguments are well formed.
I thank the officer for his email and support.
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