A dangerous game of cat and mouse

Recent deaths force a look at pursuit policies
http://www.examiner.net/stories/111407/new_217672553.shtml

Criminal suspects' desire to flee from police in Independence is not a new phenomenon in Independence or other communities in Eastern Jackson County. However, the deaths of three people - two criminal suspects and an innocent bystander - in the last two weeks due to police pursuits may have heightened public awareness of the Police Department's pursuit policy.

Police Chief Fred Mills said criminal suspects' gung-ho approach to evading officers will not dissuade officers from doing their jobs.

"I don't want people to think we're out here playing 'cowboys and indians'," Mills said only hours before 17-year-old Christopher Cooper was killed last Thursday by a motorist trying to flee police. "We're trying to apprehend criminals."

Mills said the department's policy is consistent with police pursuit policies around the nation. Violent crimes such as murder, robbery, rape or car-jacking, known violent criminals and those suspected of driving while intoxicated who flee police are all reasonable factors for Independence police to initiate a pursuit.

Pursuing officers, the immediate, on-duty supervisor and any officers who join the pursuit must follow strict guidelines and procedures, Mills said.

"We follow the policy, which follows the standards set forth by a national police certification board," Mills said, noting the department's accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

Mills said despite the deaths of Cooper, Anthony L. Jones and Daniel A. Barreto following police pursuits, the department has no plans to adjust or amend its pursuit policies.

Jones, 40, of Lee's Summit, died last Thursday after leading police on a high-speed chase through Independence and into Raytown. Jones was wanted in Grandview on a probation violation warrant when police observed the Pontiac Grand Prix he was driving traveling at a high rate of speed near U.S. 40 and Sterling Avenue. Trying to avoid being stopped, Jones reached speeds as high as 140 mph. He eventually skidded off the road rounding a turn and hit a basketball pole, overturning between two houses.

Barreto died Oct. 31 after fleeing from Independence police, who saw his 1996 Nissan Sentra drag racing with another vehicle and tried to apprehend it. Barreto crashed and was ejected from the vehicle. He was not wearing a seat belt. A passenger in Barreto's car who was wearing a seat belt was treated for minor injuries at Research Medical Center and later released.

"I've never been able to understand people's total disregard for the law," Mills said of the pursuits.

Ken Novak, associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said many criminal suspects' brazen attitude toward fleeing from authorities stems from a belief that they may just escape the wrath of the justice system. Novak has studied countless data regarding police and their policies, procedures and operations.

"I suspect often people overestimate their likelihood of successfully fleeing from the police, while greatly underestimating the level of risk such behavior causes," Novak said. "The automobile creates false security for many (not just criminals) as evidenced by the numerous activities most of us engage in while driving that clearly causes safety risks; for example eating, drinking, cell phones, applying makeup, reading, speeding, and so forth.

"This false perception of risk likely creates a sense that suspects believe they can outrun the police. However, as the old saying goes, 'you can't outrun Motorola (the police radio).'"

Neighboring cities have similar policies to that in Independence.

Officers in Blue Springs may only engage in a pursuit if the fleeing person is a dangerous felon, driving while intoxicated or driving a stolen vehicle. The officer cannot follow the chase outside the city limits and must leave a pursuit initiated by another police agency if other backup vehicles get involved. Officials said they have not had a police pursuit that led to a fatality in recent memory. Officials credit the law of averages for their limited police pursuits and related fatalities.

"We have a smaller number of pursuits (to Independence)," said Blue Springs Police Det. Troy Pharr. "I guess, by chance, we have not been involved in those pursuits that have ended with fatalities."

Pharr agreed that many suspects in criminal cases who try to flee from police do not take into account the safety of others, the police or themselves.

"(Suspects) are putting their own desire to get away ahead of anything else," Pharr said.

Police officials in Kansas City formed a task force to review its pursuit policy after the death of Toni Sena.

Sena died in 2003 after being struck by a pickup driven by a suspect in a domestic violence case who fled from Overland Park, Kan., police into Kansas City. Kansas City police joined the chase, which ultimately lead to Sena being hit by the fleeing suspect. Sena was riding a bike with her husband at the time of the pursuit.

Police pursuit policies in Independence, Blue Springs and Lee's Summit prohibit the use of roadblocks, but the use of tire-deflating devices, the preferred technique of law enforcement officials for ending pursuits, are allowed in each of those municipalities.

Mills said the Independence Police Department will stay the course, aggressively pursuing criminals intent on trying to flee from officers and posing a danger to public safety.

"Officers file pursuit reports after each instance to see if they follow the guidelines set forth in our pursuit policy," Mills said. "The incident goes before an accident review board, and one of the main questions asked is 'did you follow those guidelines?' We monitor those reports very, very closely."

 

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Police chase study

In the May 2006 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine, the official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, a group of the nation's emergency room doctors studied deaths in police chases, and concluded those chases were "an emerging public health problem."

The doctors analyzed police pursuits in the period 1982 to 2004, and found there were 881,733 fatal crashes reported to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, leading to 987,523 fatalities. Of fatal crashes, 6,336 (0.7 percent) were secondary to pursuits, leading to 7,430 (0.8 percent) fatalities. Occupants of chased vehicles accounted for 5,355 (72 percent) deaths and police for 81 (1 percent) deaths Almost 2,000 "uninvolved persons" died as a result of these pursuits (27 percent of the fatalities).

The authors reviewed the demographic data, alcohol involvement, road location and mechanism of collision leading to a pursuit fatality. Children and adolescents accounted for 28 percent of all fatalities. African-Americans and Native Americans died at a higher proportion than their percentage of U.S. population.

Alcohol was involved in 4,628 (62 percent) fatalities. Of police officers killed, 20 (25 percent) were by intoxicated drivers.

Dr. Robert M. Miller one of the groups' leading researchers, concluded, "Police pursuit related fatalities are an emerging public health problem that affects suspects, police officers and innocent bystanders alike. More data must be gathered by each state to fully understand the nature of pursuits with a goal of reducing preventable deaths and injuries."

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine is a national nonprofit organization of more than 6,000 academic emergency physicians, emergency medicine residents and medical students. The society's mission is to improve patient care by advancing research and education in emergency medicine.

Source: Academic Emergency Medicine

Additional Link:  2 Deaths in 24 Hours