Monday 11/24: WFTV @ 6PM

I'll be appearing as part of a story about the PIT maneuver on the Orlando ABC network, WFTV, this evening at 6 PM. Check back for more updates.

Driver training stops after the academy...

Our friend, Ron Kelley, was recently featured in a story by KSDK concerning police vehicle training in Illinois and Missouri.

Ron Kelley has been in law enforcement for the past 27 years and is affiliated with the Association of Law Enforcement Emergency Response Trainers and the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association. He travels the country teaching advanced driving classes to police and troopers.

"If they have not had any training since they were in the academy, Leisa, humans resort back to bad habits. They become complacent. They need to be reminded," Kelley said. "Eighty percent of their career is behind the wheel of a vehicle and operating at very high speeds. That training needs to be emphasized."

Kimberly Cochran, ISP Academy Commander, does not agree with Kelley's philosophy.

"We don't do the driving because the officers use that skill every day. They drive over 45 million miles a year and they use those skills daily," Cochran said.

Unfortunately, Kimberly Cochran isn't right. Do officers us the PIT maneuver daily? Do they deploy stop sticks daily? Do they practice proper communication and strategy of a pursuit with fellow officers daily? Exactly.

You can read the full story HERE. There is also an accompanying video.

Questions remain in Snohomish County

Did the officer involved in a pursuit that led to the death of the fleeing suspect, an 18 year-old high school student, use the PIT maneuver?

Was it justified in this case?

Herald Writer Jackson Holtz asked Ron Kelley, a friend of PursuitWatch, his opinion:

The PIT generally is most effective between 25 and 45 mph, said Ron Kelley, a retired police driving instructor from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, near Orlando, Fla.

Anything slower and the car being bumped doesn't have enough force to stall out when spun around, he said. At higher speeds the results are unpredictable.

Police haven't said how fast Privrasky was driving when the deputy attempted the PIT.

Nakao said he was driving behind the chase, which was moving fast.

"It's not every day you see a police chase like that," Nakao said.

He said he saw Privrasky's car leave the road and couldn't tell whether the deputy made contact with the car.

As police reconstruct the crash, they'll likely weigh everything the deputy had to take into consideration that night before attempting the PIT, Kelley said.

While the retired deputy is careful not to second-guess the deputy's decision, questions remain unanswered.

While the pursuit started because Privrasky was speeding, it became a felony when he did not pull over for the officer and tried to flee. Sheriff's deputies are allowed to chase vehicles only when a felony has been committed.

Kelley wondered whether Privasky's initial speeding warranted the risk of using the PIT, or could there have been another option? "Could he have been identified and arrested a later time at a later place?" he asked.

Captain Travis Yates of the Tulsa PD, another friend of PursuitWatch, was also quoted:

The PIT maneuver is an effective way to stop the bad guys, said Travis Yates, a captain with the Tulsa (Okla.) Police Department who runs PoliceDriving.com.

Like any police tool, it's not without some risk to both the pursued and the police, said Yates, who is considered an expert on PIT maneuvers.

"Anytime a law enforcement action ends in a fatality, it's a tragedy on both sides," Yates said. "We have to always remember that police don't go out on the streets and intend on going on pursuits. For some reason some people decide they want to flee."

Click HERE to read the whole story...

St. Petersburg to review policy

According to Fox13 in Tampa, officers of the St. Petersburg PD want their pursuit policy reviewed. Not just when to pursue, but how to end a justified pursuit. Read the entire story HERE.

This comes in result of the death of an innocent bystander last week. I wrote about the incident in a previous blog.

One part of the article caught my eye:

"We don't use (the PIT maneuver) in our department, we don't teach it."

The safety and the effectiveness of the PIT maneuver can be debated. That is not what I am focusing on here. This shows that a safer pursuit policy is much, much more than what is on paper. Departments must be willing to put in the man hours to correctly train their officers so when the case arises where a pursuit is necessary they can bring it to a safe and quick end. Does anyone know the training hours an officer does in regards to the use of his firearm in comparison to police pursuits? It's time to do a bit of research...