Chase’s Tragic Consequences Outrage Chief

A police chase that resulted in a crash that severed the arm of a baby boy roused Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton to demand harsh punishment Wednesday for the driver of the car that rammed the vehicle carrying the infant.

“Hang ‘em high,” an outraged Bratton said in an interview Wednesday on public radio station KPCC-FM (89.3). Bratton said his department would thoroughly review all the circumstances leading up to the crash, which he called “a tragedy for the family.”

But in his blunt style, the chief echoed earlier comments by Police Commission President Rick Caruso that pursuing officers cannot look the other way when a crime is committed and said suspects fleeing police should face mandatory jail time.

“It’s a Catch-22. You can’t let [criminals] run amok,” Bratton said, adding that police pursuits are too often treated like entertainment in Los Angeles rather than criminal activity. “As far as that character yesterday, hang ‘em high.”

At a later news conference, Bratton said he met with the family of the injured boy on Wednesday and planned to do so again today. He also defended the pursuing officers for doing their job.

“The police are out there to control crime,” he said. “The reality is we have people out there breaking the law. We have to enforce the law. This individual yesterday was wanted for [an attempted] murder. Are we going to let him flee? I think not.”

Alejandro Martinez, 26, the driver of the Chevrolet Corsica that collided with the sport utility vehicle carrying the infant and his parents, was fleeing the scene of a stabbing in Sylmar at the time of the accident Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Martinez, being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, is expected to be charged today with attempted murder in connection with the stabbing and could face additional charges stemming from the chase and subsequent collision.

Meanwhile, the 19-day-old baby underwent surgery Wednesday morning to clean and patch up his injured left arm, which was severed just above the elbow, said hospital spokesman Steve Rutledge. He remains in serious condition.

The child’s distraught parents requested that their names not be released, he said.

“The parents are doing as well as anyone would in their situation,” Rutledge said. “It’s very difficult for them. They seem to have a very large, supportive extended family, who has been here for them.”

Rutledge said plastic surgeons have examined the child’s arm and are exploring ways to make it “amenable to a prosthetic, but that’s way down the road.”

Police investigators were still piecing together the circumstances surrounding the crash in Sylmar. But they said all indications were that the 2 1/2-minute pursuit was consistent with Police Department guidelines.

LAPD officials said officers spotted Martinez’s car about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The vehicle matched the description of one driven by suspects in a stabbing minutes earlier in the 13200 block of Maclay Avenue in Sylmar.

But the chase unfolded so quickly that there was not enough time to consult with a supervising officer or to dispatch an air unit to pick up the chase, said Deputy Chief George Gascon.

He added that it appeared the officers’ actions would have complied even with more stringent pursuit guidelines the department is considering.

Under the current policy, individual officers have wide discretion to initiate a chase, whether the suspects are involved in a minor infraction or a dangerous felony.

The officer must weigh the potential threat to bystanders against the need to make an arrest, taking into account traffic, pedestrians and the danger posed by the suspect.

After a series of high-profile collisions and a significant increase in injuries arising from police pursuits, the department is weighing a more restrictive policy.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has what is considered a highly restrictive pursuit policy.

Sheriff’s spokesman Darren Harris said that when deputies initiate a pursuit, they are required to tell commanders their speed, location and reasons for a chase, including what law was violated by the suspect.

They also must relay a vehicle description and license plate as well as communicate the number of vehicle occupants and traffic conditions.

“The watch commander will take that information and determine whether it falls within department guidelines,” Harris said. “The deputies also have discretion to cancel a pursuit at any time.”

Still, the LAPD’s Gascon stressed that police officers have a delicate balancing act.

“We’re very concerned and we want to look at where can we adjust the policy to enhance public safety without the unintended consequence of increasing the danger to the community,” he said.

Caruso said he wants Gov. Gray Davis to increase jail time for those who flee from police.

But a spokesman for Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said state law provides for a mandatory six-month jail sentence for anyone convicted of evading police, with a one-year cap for chases that end without injury.

“If there is an injury, an additional charge [of willful flight causing injury] provides up to five years” in state prison, Jane Robison said.

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Times staff writer Megan Garvey contributed to this report.