"One third of police pursuits end in death of bystander"

[Pert_UK]

"One third of all high-speed police pursuits nationwide resulted in the death of an innocent bystander, according to a Harborview analysis of nine years of national statistics released Wednesday...

The study results released Wednesday by the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle pointed out that the number of deaths nationwide each year far exceeds that due to any other police activity. Nearly 300 people are killed annually in police pursuits, the study found...

The principal investigator for the study was Dr. Frederick Rivara, a University of Washington professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of epidemiology...

``We have to ask ourselves whether there may be safe and effective alternatives to high speed police pursuits of suspected criminals,'' Rivara said, adding that public debate is needed."

http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/160771

Wow! I'm stunned by this huge number of deaths due to police chases. How come there isn't a public outcry?

P.

[iverglas]

1. up here

There *has* been a public outcry. I believe that police are supposed to be under pretty strict instructions *not* to engage in these chases except in extraordinary circumstances. When I get a minute, which might not be today, I'll see what I can find.

.

[Pert_UK]

2. Up to you, Iverglas...

I'm going to try to have a few days away from DU, as it's a long holiday weekend here and I should really be out doing something exciting.

I'm not sure whether I have much to add on the debate, but I saw the article and thought it worth mentioning on here.

P.

[demsrule4life]

3. It is a tough question

Do you let someone like Jefferey Dahmer go in the interest of public safety? How many people would he kill before you have a chance to catch him again? Personally I don't support high speed chases for minor offenses, but should'nt we take the risk to chase people that are a genuine threat to society?

[iverglas]

4. it is indeed

The fact is that there are very few Jeffrey Dahmers being pursued by police on the roads. Most *are* about minor offences. They aren't people who have just robbed a bank, they're people who have just run a red light.

But ... often the people who have run the red lights are driving stolen cars. And the very fact that they ran the red light demonstrates that they *are* "a genuine threat to society" -- they're often racing around the streets at high speed, disobeying all the rules and signs, or they're impaired (or all of the above), and they're almost as likely to kill somebody all by themselves as they are if they're being pursued.

It's perfectly reasonable, and in the public interest, to try to stop them in many cases. But trying to do it increases the danger.

It's one of those fine balancing acts. ;)

.

[slackmaster]

5. Many police chases here involve immigrant smugglers

A few years ago we had nine people killed in a police-chase crash. A "coyote" had about 15 people in a van. He lived.

[Superfly]

6. All they need is one of these:

[slackmaster]

15. Those work only when a smuggler drives past them

More often illegal immigrants (in SoCal) walk across the border and are picked up at a prearranged time and place for transport to their jobs.

[iverglas]

7. that's nasty

And that's pretty clearly a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

.

[demsrule4life]

12. Haven't they started using the technology in England?

Heard on the news that British police rolled in some new type of xray machine into a night club. Had people walk through it. The police were looking for weapons and drugs.

[iverglas]

18. what I was referring to

as "nasty" and a cure worse than the disease was the incident reported by slackmaster:

A few years ago we had nine people killed in a police-chase crash. A "coyote" had about 15 people in a van. He lived.

An action that results in the death of nine people is a cure worse than just about any disease.

.

[TX-RAT]

8. If i pursue I'm liable, if i don't ,I'm liable, Sucks don't it.

Aerial observation is by far the best choice, but unavailable to most law enforcement agency's.
Spike strips work if you have enough time, and excellent radio communications.
There are some electronic devices designed to short the electrical system, but with most you will still have to pursue the vehicle.

Mandatory license suspension along with mandatory jail time will help deter some pursuits, but not many.
Theres no sure means to stop a pursuit short of lethal force, and that is rarely a option.

[FeebMaster]

9. How so?

"Mandatory license suspension along with mandatory jail time will help deter some pursuits"

[Superfly]

10. Sort of like

revoking a person's license if they fail to submit to a roadside sobriety test.

[slackmaster]

16. Please explain what liability you would incur

If, using your best judgement, you decide it's too risky to pursue a criminal suspect.

As I understand federal court rulings, as an LEO you are not liable for declining to enforce the law in any particular instance; nobody can sue you for inaction. You might get chewed out by your bosses, but that's not liability in a legal sense.

[pnb]

11. We actually had the high speed chases outlawed...

...here in Atlanta a couple of years ago.

[MrSandman]

13. The unanswered question...

"While not downplaying the number of deaths, Urquhart noted that the study does not indicate how many high speed chases were conducted by police during the nine year study. Only fatal high speed chases were examined, which could tend to skew the statistic, he said."

Did they mean 1/3 of fatalities in high speed pursuits were bystanders?

There are very few pursuits locally. Do a large number of fleeing motorists have anything in common but felonious stupidity?
Real question: Anecdotal or statistical answers welcome.

[Pert_UK]

14. UPDATE - thanks to MrSandman.....

D'oh! That will teach me to post articles based on the headline!

I did read the report, but failed to pick up one important point, as highlighted by MrSandman.

Despite the headline, what this article is actually saying is:

If you examine the police chases that end with a fatality, one third of those fatalities is a completely innocent bystander.

I.E. It's not that one third of police chases end in the death of an innocent bystander, but one third of deaths during police chases are innocent bystanders.

Capiche? (sp?)

"During that period (1994-200), Rivara discovered there were between 260 and 325 police pursuits annually that ended in deaths. Of those who died, 1,088 were not in the fleeing vehicles and 2,055 were in the fleeing vehicles. Altogether, 946 (30.1 percent) were in vehicles not involved in the pursuits. The researchers found that 102 pedestrian and bicyclists were killed and 40 police officers died."

[slackmaster]

17. One innocent bystander killed is one too many

n/t

[MrSandman]

19. But how to prevent it?

I do not believe that to allow all fugitives to flee is the answer.