Pursuit Past the Elementary School
At 3:10 p.m., an officer sees a pickup run a red light at 62 mph in a 25 mph zone two blocks from an elementary school. He activates lights and siren. The truck does not stop, passes a stopped school bus with flashing red lights, and turns onto a residential street with sidewalks full of children. The officer radios dispatch and gives the location, speed, and direction. His supervisor is on another call. The officer has not been trained in tactical vehicle intervention; the truck's license plate is partially covered. After 1 minute and 0.4 miles, the truck is still speeding. The officer is 28 years old with 14 months' experience. The department's pursuit policy says pursuits are permitted only when the need to apprehend outweighs the danger and must be terminated when the risk is greater.
1. Should the officer continue the pursuit? Apply the policy to the facts.
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The officer should terminate the pursuit. The underlying offense is a traffic violation, not a violent felony, so the need to apprehend immediately is low. The danger is high: 62 mph in a 25 mph zone, a red-light violation, a stopped school bus with flashing red lights, a residential street full of children at dismissal time, and a partially covered plate. The officer has 14 months' experience and no tactical vehicle intervention training. The policy requires terminating when the risk is greater than the need to apprehend, and that point has been reached. Continuing would also expose the officer and the public to liability for a decision that is not proportional to the offense. The officer should broadcast the termination, turn off lights and siren, slow to a legal speed, and continue in the direction of travel only as a normal motorist while dispatch coordinates other resources. The plate and vehicle description can support later investigation.
2. What must the officer document and report about the pursuit and termination?
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The officer should document the initial violation, the speed and zone, the location of the elementary school, the school bus with flashing red lights, the residential street, and the presence of children. The report should include the time the pursuit began, the radio traffic, the supervisor notification, the speed and distance during the pursuit, and the exact time and location of termination. It should state that lights and siren were turned off and that the officer slowed to a legal speed. The officer should note the partial plate and any vehicle descriptors. Body-worn camera and radio recordings should be preserved. The report should explain the decision to terminate, not just state that it happened. It should avoid conclusory language like 'the pursuit was unsafe' without the facts that made it unsafe. If the truck is later located, the report should not suggest that the officer continued to pursue after termination.
3. What is the supervisor's responsibility during and after this event?
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The supervisor should monitor the radio, ask for the officer's location, speed, and conditions, and affirm the termination if the officer has not already terminated. If the supervisor is on another call, dispatch should notify the supervisor promptly, and another supervisor should be assigned if available. After the event, the supervisor should review the radio traffic and body-worn camera, confirm that the pursuit ended when required, and complete any pursuit review required by policy. The supervisor should also address training needs: the officer's inexperience and lack of tactical vehicle intervention training are relevant to future assignments and pursuit decisions. If the supervisor finds that the pursuit continued after termination should have occurred, the supervisor should document it and follow the agency's discipline and review process. The supervisor should not discourage accurate reporting by second-guessing the officer's honest decision to terminate.