Tennessee's HB 2907

The Tennessee House Criminal Practice Subcommittee is set to take on HB 2907 this Wednesday (April 7). PursuitWatch.org opposes the bill. Here is a quick summary:

Under present law, the fact that law enforcement personnel pursue an actual or suspected violator of a law or ordinance who flees from pursuit does not render the law enforcement personnel, or the employers of the law enforcement personnel, liable for injuries to a third party proximately caused by the fleeing party unless the conduct of the law enforcement personnel was negligent and that negligence was a proximate cause of the injuries to the third party. This bill increases the measure of negligence that law enforcement personnel must engage in while pursuing a suspected violator, in order for such personnel or their employer to be liable for injuries to a third party proximately caused by the fleeing party, from ordinary negligence to gross negligence.

This bill also prohibits employers of law enforcement personnel from taking disciplinary action against law enforcement personnel for a pursuit of a fleeing suspect, unless such pursuit violated pursuit policies established by the law enforcement agency that employed such law enforcement personnel at the time of the pursuit.

For more on the Bill, click HERE.

Below is my letter to the members of the Subcommittee:


Members of the Tennessee House Criminal Practice Subcommittee,

This Wednesday (April 7), you will take on HB 2907. The Bill wishes to set the bar to which law enforcement is responsible for the negative consequences of police pursuits from “negligent and that negligence” to “grossly negligent and that gross negligence.”

PursuitWatch.org, which advocates for safer and smarter police pursuits, urges members of the Subcommittee to oppose the Bill.

While my organization understands the level of freedom law enforcement officers must be granted to protect the public, requiring the presence of gross negligence is simply too liberal of a concession.

Unfortunately, sometimes law enforcement forgets their job is not necessarily to catch the bad guy, but rather it is to protect the public. In 2001, my then 20-year-old sister was an innocent victim of a police pursuit. While the criminal who refused to stop for the police was imprisoned, our family also held comfort in knowing that the department and officers involved - whose negligence compounded a series of bad decisions by the criminal - were also held responsible for their actions.

Let me be clear: PursuitWatch.org does not wish to minimize the ability for law enforcement to complete their job. We simply feel that the passage of HB 2907 allows law enforcement to place themselves and the public in grave danger, without having to be accountable for their actions.

Regards,

John Phillips

Technology Cannot Replace a Public-Safety First Policy

I wrote a piece for Candy Priano and PursuitSAFETY's Voices on the Street. Distributed on March 17, Voices on the Street is the organization's newsletter. You can subscribe HERE.

There are several factors that go into a safe policy. To begin with, officers must receive adequate training beyond the academy. The fact that officers spend a majority of time in their vehicle does not mean they have the expertise required to safely track down a fleeing suspect.

Second, all departments should have a well-defined policy that clearly states the protocol when dealing with possible pursuits. There should be no doubt in an officer’s mind as to the appropriate action to take in such a circumstance. Officers already have enough on their mind. They need to know—before they “light up” a driver—if their policy allows a pursuit should the driver decide to flee.

To read the rest of the piece, click HERE.

"Classes encourage cops to review pursuit policies"

PursuitWatch was recently mentioned in an article in The Monitor of Edinburg, Texas.

There were 404 fatalities nationwide that stemmed from police pursuits in 2006, according to an analysis of government data by PursuitWatch.org, a pursuit safety advocate. Among those deaths, 133 of the victims were bystanders or occupants of uninvolved vehicles.

The piece continues:

epending on the nature of the offense — especially if no felony was committed — it may be best to cut loose the suspect, despite the officer’s desire to catch the criminal.

“Using good common sense — that’s what it boils down to,” Rodriguez said. “Once you get their license plates, let them go. We’ll get them later.”

I couldn't agree more. To read the piece, click HERE.

The Scott Fitzgerald Show

This morning I was a guest on the Scott Fitzgerald Show on Raleigh N.C.'s NewsRadio 680. The interview was triggered by a pursuit yesterday in Raleigh for a stolen vehicle. Although, according to the report, the police had GPS capabilities to keep track of the fleeing vehicle on the radar, they pursued during rush hour at high speeds. Luckily, no one died.

Lasting three segments and nearly 45 minutes, I spoke with Scott about what a proper policy should be, what should have happened yesterday, what technologies are available today, and more. During the interview Scott fielded several calls from listeners. Surprisingly, a majority seemed to understand the need to have a strictly defined policy that properly weights the need to apprehend a suspect immediately and protecting the public. Others did not see it that way, yet the discussion remained civil and productive.

Thanks to Mr. Fitzgerald for having me on.

You can learn more about him and his show HERE.

I'll post a link to the audio if I can track it down...

In NSW, minimum punishments will go a long way

According to The Coast News, the New South Wales government has enacted legislation that requires a jail sentence of at least 3 years and up to 5 years for those who choose to flee police, even if no one is hurt. The change in police includes:

• Participate in a police pursuit while driving furiously, recklessly or at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the public – maximum jail term: three years;

• Participate in a police pursuit while driving furiously, recklessly or at a speed or in a manner dangerous to the public on a second or subsequent occasion within five years of the first offence – maximum jail term: five years.

Now if someone is hurt, prosecutors a free to pursue harsher sentences, but having this tool at their disposal will undoubtedly bring how the message of how dangerous it is to flee police.

At the same time, officers still have the ability to pursue if the suspected crime warrants such. To close,

“Police pursuits are only engaged in by highly-skilled and trained officers and are subject to strict guidelines and safe driving strategies.”

It looks like NSW is doing it the right way. Proper policy, proper officer training, proper oversight, proper punishment.

Mid-North Monitor: Safety top concern during police pursuits: chief

An interesting story came through my alerts yesterday from the Mid-North Monitor in Espanola, Ontario. Noting the difference between American police pursuits and the Canadian approach...

According to Towns, the approach taken by police services in Ontario is always bent toward the threat the pursuit presents to the safety of the public. This may appear to be in contrast to the American approach, which is generally more aggressive. Through extensive media attention, high-intensity, high-speed pursuits have become part of the visual vocabulary in Canadian households, but for the most part that isn't how it happens north of the border.

In fact, Ontario law states that "police are in fact only to start a pursuit if they have determined that 'there are no alternatives available as set out in the written procedures of the police force'." That is quite a difference.

You can read the rest HERE.

Innocent victim dies in Orlando... Just what happened?

Update, 10:55 AM:

According to the Orlando Sentinel,

Officers said 24-year-old Kenny Zarzuela struck Spencer George Owens' car in Tuesday's crash at Lake Margaret Drive and Semoran Boulevard while fleeing from police. Owens, 42, of Orlando, died at Florida Hospital East.

Police say an officer turned on his lights upon observing Zarzuela run a red light. The suspect was driving erratically and refused to stop. The officer followed for a block or so, and when he was turning his police cruiser around, heard the sound of the collision.

Orlando Sentinel: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-crash-accident-orlando-20100119,0,6550186.story

--------------

News reports out of Orlando this morning are revealing the death of a motorist who was struck and killed by a vehicle that failed to stop at the request of the Orlando Police Department. Details are few and far between, but here is what we think we know so far:

• According to the Orlando Sentinel, OPD attempted to pull over a blue escort after it ran a red light.
  
• The escort failed to stop, and the police followed.
  
• The suspect's car then struck the victim. Rescue crews transferred the victim to the hospital, where he/she was pronounced dead.
  
• The suspect has been arrested. Charges have yet to be filed.
  
• According to WESH, police noted that they did not initiate a pursuit and that the accident happened minutes after the attempted stop.
  

It's very early on this story, but let's stay with it until more details are released.

Sentinel: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-crash-accident-orlando-20100119,0,6550186.story
Local 6: http://www.clickorlando.com/news/22270486/detail.html
WESH: http://www.wesh.com/news/22270278/detail.html

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.

Hot pursuit: Dashcam video fuels Rugby Road chase debate

I was recently quoted in an article about a pursuit in Virginia that raised a lot of questions.

About two months after the August 7 incident, which captured widespread attention after the car’s driver somehow disappeared from a seemingly fatal wreck, a 17-year-old city student was arrested in mid-October, according to Charlottesville spokesperson Ric Barrick, who— in response to a reporter’s request— released a tape of the chase, a 112-second video in which even the police car hits 85mph on the residential road.

This is a very interesting article, and the journalism is top notch. To continue,

Despite fears that crime would explode, Orlando and Orange County, Florida, went ahead in 2004 with what may be the nation’s most restrictive ones. They limit pursuits to those involving people suspected of violent crimes.

John Phillips remembers all too well what spurred the policy.

In 2001, when he was 18 years old, his older sister was a college sophomore preparing to enter a nursing program. Sarah Phillips went out one night with three friends to a movie. After dropping off her friends, she unknowingly found herself on the same road as a police pursuit.

To read the rest, click HERE.