Curbing Police Chases

Police chases on television dramas never end with a pedestrian dead or an infant in a family minivan maimed. In the real world, however, police chases left 541 people dead in the last decade across California, according to federal statistics. That includes 191 innocent passersby.

It may be impossible to eliminate all such deaths and injuries. But a proposal by Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton to strictly limit when officers can give chase, coupled with a stinging legal opinion concerning a state law that cloaks police officers with broad liability protection, provides the impetus to reduce the risk.

High-speed pursuits force patrol officers to balance protecting the public from dangerous people against the confusing moment when a pursuit becomes too risky to continue. But Los Angeles Police Department guidelines have added to the volatile mix by encouraging officers to give chase.

The LAPD saw the number of pursuits rise to 781 in 2001, up from 597 a year earlier. The number of pedestrians injured was double the 1998 total. Equally troubling is that at least 60% of LAPD chases were prompted by such minor offenses as broken taillights and missing license plates.

A city Police Commission study of big-city pursuit policies identified Dallas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles as departments with the highest percentage of pursuits that ended in collisions. The common denominator: All three cities allow officers to chase traffic violators. In contrast, the smaller Orange County Sheriff’s Department prohibits pursuits for traffic infractions alone. It conducted just eight pursuits in 2001 and reported one collision.

Bratton has asked the commission to prohibit pursuits just for traffic infractions. The chief wants to shift critical decision-making from adrenalin-pumped officers in patrol cars to supervisors with their feet more firmly on the ground. Helicopters would also take a bigger role in chases. This is a good balance, and the commission should resist the temptation to make the rules even sterner, which could hobble police.

Legislators in Sacramento should review a 15-year-old law that provides what a state appeals court has described as a “get-out-of-liability card” for officers involved in chases. Justices in the 4th District Court of Appeals prodded legislators to “seriously reconsider the balance between public entity immunity and public safety. The balance appears to have shifted too far toward immunity.”

No one wants to punish police for performing a dangerous and necessary job. But law enforcement agencies should establish and enforce strict pursuit policies. And officers must believe that truly reckless pursuits will carry strong penalties.