Tampa Tribune: Deadly chase was judgement call

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Hernando County Sheriff's Office Deputy John Mecklenburg died during a police pursuit. The chase also caused minor injuries to another deputy. Howard Altman of the Tampa Tribune offered an interesting article on the events that took place and HCSO's pursuit policy.

According to Altman, Hernando County's pursuit policy says "pursuits should be aimed at 'violent felony offenders only'." The pursuit that killed Deputy Mecklenburg was due to the suspect driving the wrong way, which certainly doesn't meet the "violent felony offenders only" barrier. Officials noted an investigation is ongoing.

From the article:

Driving the wrong way on a one-way street isn't a reason to give chase, but what happened next seems to be, said Jon Shane, who teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

The initial reports about the chase seem to "justify continued pursuit, especially after a deputy was injured," Shane said. "The person they are pursuing is the one who dictates the pursuit."

This doesn't make sense. If driving the wrong way doesn't justify a pursuit, then it should never get to the point to where an officer can be injured. Using the events that happen once a pursuit is continued to justify the pursuit enables all pursuits to be justified. In other words, "We can only pursue dangerous people, and even though the suspect only had a broken taillight once he fled he became one of those dangerous people."

John Phillips has a different take. On Dec. 13, 2001, his 20-year-old sister, Sarah, was killed during a pursuit by Orange County deputies. His family started the website PursuitWatch in March 2003 to get law enforcement to chase only people thought to have committed a violent crime.

"Any other offense is not worth the risk to the innocent public and law enforcement," Phillips said. "While someone driving the wrong way is certainly dangerous, we do not need to compound the bad decisions of others with our own. I can't think of a more common situation for law enforcement where the chance of a negative outcome is so possible."

You can read the entire article HERE.

2007: A deadly year for law enforcement

According to a National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Concerns of Police Survivors study, the 186 deaths of law enforcement nationwide in 2007 is the most since 2001. Below is a breakdown of the 186 deaths, complements of the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.

• 69:Number of shooting deaths in 2007, an increase from 52 in 2006.

• 81:Number of traffic-related deaths in 2007, an increase from 73 in 2006.

• 7:Officers killed this year who were woman.

• 39:Average age of police officers killed in the line of duty with an average of 11.4 years in law enforcement.

• 40:Percent of officers who were killed in felonious attacks in 2007.

• 60:Percent of officers who died from accidental causes.

• 51:Number of handguns used in the fatal officer shootings. Shotguns were used in eight.

• 17:Number of federal law enforcement officers who died this year, including five special agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations who were killed in Iraq.

It's also important to note, that aside from 2001, 2007 is the deadliest year since 1989. The number of deaths in 2001 include those lost on September 11th, thus drastically altering the total.

There are many possible explanations for the horrible number, yet one thing remains certain: Law enforcement is still a very dangerous job.

I would like to thank those of you who put your life on the line daily to protect us citizens, and ask that you understand, as PursuitWatch's introduction states:

First let me say welcome. Contrary to what some have said this is not a police-bashing site. PursuitWatch does not support the abolition of police pursuits. PursuitWatch promotes safer pursuit policy and the elimination of unnecessary pursuits. As police officers, I would ask you keep an open mind as you visit these pages. I am open to your suggestions and criticisms and PursuitWatch will publish well written and reasoned rebuttals to our positions. This should be an evolving learning process for all involved. Please remember that when the suspect flees it is you, the police officer, that we depend upon to make the critical life and death decisions that affect you, the public and even the fleeing suspect. The suspect has already made a potentially deadly decision and how you react to this situation is critical. It is at this point that we rely on your training, professionalism and expertise to make the critical judgments that determine the outcomes of these events. Sure-“If the bad guys hadn’t run this wouldn’t have happened.” What is just as true is that once the suspect flees, the police officers involved have virtually as much control of the outcomes of these events as the bad guys.

Here's to working together towards a safe 2008.

Two Palm Beach Sheriff's Officers die during pursuit of stolen car

Two Palm Beach Sheriff's Officers have died following the pursuit of two men who were suspected of stealing a car.

Early Wednesday morning, police received a call from a resident saying their neighbors car was being broken into. Police responded and noticed the stolen car traveling down Route 715. After refusing to stop, a sergeant authorized the pursuit.

Two deputies, Donta Manuel and Johnathan Wallace placed stop sticks in the direction of the chase and were successful. However, when the two officers were removing the stop sticks shortly after, they were struck and killed by one of the sheriff's pursuing vehicles.

More to come as this tragedy unfolds.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Update: 3:30 PM 11/28/07

One of the suspects is in custody. Police are still searching for a second.

Officer Manual

Officer Wallace

Still Developing...

Source: Palm Beach Post

Update: 11:30 AM 12/03/07

Details are starting to surface concerning last weeks accident in Palm Beach county. The following comes from a South Florida Sun Sentinel Article. You can read it in full HERE.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Deputies Donta Manuel and Jonathan Wallace threw tire-deflation devices into the path of a fleeing stolen car but left a key component in the trunk, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Thursday.

If the retrieval lanyards had been attached to the Stop Sticks, Bradshaw said, the deputies simply could have yanked the devices off State Road 715 south of Pahokee. Instead, they darted onto the highway to get them early Wednesday and were hit and killed by another deputy's cruiser.

"That decision turned out to be a fatal mistake," Bradshaw said after outlining his agency's policies on the use of Stop Sticks and police pursuits.

Police are still searching for the passenger in the fleeing vehicle.

Just how many fatalities are there?

To clear some air:

Probably the most common question I get asked by the media or readers is just how many fatalities a year are there? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. The method in which statistics are compiled is extremely flawed. I wrote an article concerning the number several months back which cited a previous PursuitWatch.org article. They are both linked below:

How many victims are there?

Police Pursuits- A national epidemic

When members of the media ask, I tell them the safe number to go with is 400, but I know it is higher. Thus, I like to refer to it as 400*.