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Survivor’s family notifies Rockport of intent to sue over fatal high-speed pursuit

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ROCKPORT, Maine — The family of the sole survivor of a crash that claimed two teenagers’ lives following a high-speed police pursuit last December has notified the town of its intent to sue.

The notice of intent to sue was filed this week with the town by Jeri Vitale of Warren on behalf of her 17-year-old daughter Emily Vitale. The younger Vitale was a passenger in the 2001 Subaru Outback driven by 17-year-old Caleb Byras of Litchfield, who led Rockport police Officer Craig Cooley on a high-speed pursuit from Rockport to Wotton’s Mill Road in Union, where the car crashed and split into two large pieces.

Byras and passenger Kara Brewer, 16, of Rockland, died instantly in the Dec. 5 crash. Vitale suffered injuries to an ankle, police said.

Rockport Town Manager Rick Bates confirmed Wednesday that the notice of claim had been filed, but a copy and details were not immediately available.

Vitale is represented by attorney Peter Clifford of Kennebunk, who did not immediately respond to a telephone message left Wednesday afternoon.

Attorney Benjamin Gideon, who represents Brewer’s mother, has previously said he too plans to file a notice of intent to sue, saying that Cooley was negligent by undertaking a high-speed pursuit in violation of the town’s policy and accepted police practices. State law requires a notice be filed within six month of an incident for someone to sue the state, county or municipal government.

Cooley was taken off patrol duty last month and assigned to full-time administrative duties pending the results of an independent review of the police department’s policy by a consulting firm the town hired last month.

In the past 20 years, Cooley has split his time between being the administrative assistant to the chief and a patrol officer with the Rockport Police Department.

Cooley pursued the car driven by Byras after the Litchfield teen failed to stop when the officer tried to pull him over for speeding on Route 17 in Rockport. The chase lasted about four minutes before the crash occurred.

Cooley had issued a ticket to Byras about an hour earlier for driving 74 mph in a 55-mph zone on the same road.

Gideon said Cooley’s pursuit of Byras violated Rockport’s policy on police pursuits, which was adopted in September 2013 and is the same as the model recommended for all police departments in the state by the board of trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

The policy states that only full-time law enforcement officers may participate in a high-speed pursuit. Cooley is not certified as a full-time officer but as a part-time officer, according to John Rogers, director of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

The police policy also states that a law enforcement officer “shall not engage in high-speed pursuit if the operator is known” to the officer unless there is “a serious indication of further violent actions if not immediately apprehended.”

Further, the policy states that an officer “shall not pursue vehicles for Class D and E crimes or traffic violations, unless the conditions surrounding the pursuit are conducive to safe operation, management and due regard for the safety of the officer, the public, and the person or persons in the vehicle being pursued.”

Rockport Police Chief Mark Kelley defended Cooley, however, and said Cooley acted appropriately when he pursued the speeding teen driver.

Reposted from bangordailynews.com by Stephen Betts

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Family of innocent driver question why Seattle police engaged in deadly chase

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SEATTLE — A grieving grandmother is demanding an explanation from police as to why officers continued a pursuit that ended in a collision, killing her grandson.

You can see in that pursuit and everything, they were just hauling tail,” said a tearful Pennie Ledford, referring to dashcam video of the chase that police released. “You shouldn’t even be doing that when you’re in the city and somebody could be killed.”

Her grandson, 21-year-old Devin Francis, died early Thursday morning when the driver of a stolen car collided head-on with his vehicle.

Officers were chasing the stolen car down Highland Park Drive. The 16-year-old suspect, who investigators believe was involved in an armed carjacking earlier, was also killed in the accident.

The video shows officers following the car down residential streets until the suspect led officers down Highland Park Way, a steep and generally busy road.

It shows the suspect’s vehicle cross the centerline on a curve and strike Devin’s vehicle. The police video blurs-out the violent impact.

“He was always my buddy since he was a kid,” said Pennie, who uses oxygen because of health problems.

She and Devin had lived together for the past six years.

“He did everything for me, you know, that I needed…because with this there’s a lot of things I can’t do,” she said.

Seattle police chief Kathleen O’Toole issued a public statement saying the fatal pursuit is devastating to the families and the officers involved.

She expressed her condolences and promised a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the chase.

But Devin’s relatives say they don’t need an investigation to answer all their questions.

“If they (officers) would have held back, two people would be alive today,” Pennie said. “This guy didn’t kill nobody, he stole a car.”

Devin’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses.

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Officer and K9 injured in wild Miami car chase

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A suspect was taken into custody following a police pursuit in Miami Friday afternoon.

VIDEO: Officer, K-9 Hurt in Wild Miami Vehicle Pursuit

The chase, which started in downtown Miami, involved a red 4-door Nissan Altima that was seen speeding on Miami streets.

The car was eventually stopped in a driveway, and the driver, later identified as 34-year-old Keith Michel, was taken into custody, NBC Miami reports.

Footage showed officers surround the car with guns drawn as a K-9 approached. The car went in reverse and bumped a police car before it stopped and Michel got out.

One officer was injured and a K-9 was hurt, officials said. Officers from the City of Miami and Miami-Dade Police took part in the pursuit and arrest.

Police said Michel was wanted on serious felony charges in Lauderhill. Lauderhill Police said he was wanted for stabbing his girlfriend Thursday night. She’s in the hospital with multiple stab wounds.

UPDATE: Police dog injured ‘doing great,’ fugitive not so well

Source

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Mother of woman killed in police chase says it’s time to reconsider pursuits

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VELDA CITY • About the time Keisha Redding printed her résumé at a state job assistance center, a police patrolman a mile south noticed a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo with no front license plate. After the driver made two turns without signaling, the officer switched on his lights and siren.

The red sedan with a white hood raced away, covering the distance in the time it took Redding, 23, headed for a job interview, to start walking across Natural Bridge and Lucas and Hunt roads. The crosswalk signal was in her favor, but the circumstances were not.

It was just before 11 a.m. Feb. 26 when the Monte Carlo struck Redding, killing her instantly, and kept going. It was found later, abandoned, in St. Louis. Four days after that, prosecutors filed involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene charges againstMikal Hamilton, 24. It took police about a month more to find him.

Redding’s mother, Njoki Redding, has compassion for Hamilton and his family, recognizing that he did not intend to kill anyone. And she raises the question of whether low-stakes police pursuits make sense.

“He made a terrible mistake, and yes, there needs to be atonement for that mistake, but in that, we need to stop continuing to damage the community,” she said in a recent interview. “Responsibility needs to be taken for things that may have been incorrect as well as looked at in terms of how do we change things.

“Nothing will bring her back, but how can we grow? … If it was a chase, then why are we chasing? For a ticket?”

Police pursuits have been controversial, given the danger to the public, officers and suspects themselves.

They’re also a costly risk to taxpayers. In 2012, a jury awarded$3.1 million to the family of a woman, 34, killed by a speeding suspect fleeing from the now defunct Uplands Park police.

Redding’s death comes at a time when events in Ferguson have put intense attention upon reforming policing in north St. Louis County municipalities. Recent legislation by the St. Louis County Council requires departments to gain accreditation and suggests that they establish pursuit policies. But the measure doesn’t dictate what the policies should say.

National data show that more police officers die from vehicle crashes than gunshots.

History of pursuits

Many large departments, including St. Louis and St. Louis County, have conservative policies that restrict pursuits to cases in which a suspected felon is considered a greater threat to the public than a pursuit.

Velda City’s policy allows chases for misdemeanors as well as felonies. Chief Dan Paulino did not respond to requests for documentation of how traffic infractions fall within that policy.

Paulino has said that he believes his officer followed policy.

“Our policy … also goes into if you identify the person or get a (license) plate (number), go ahead and terminate the pursuit,” Paulino explained. “In this particular case, the officer was trying to get the plate.”

His policy also states that officers should terminate pursuits at the city limits unless the person “is wanted for a dangerous felony.” The intersection where Redding died is about two-tenths of a mile north of the boundary of the city of about 1,600 people.

It was one in a series of high-profile pursuits by the 16-member department in recent years.

St. Louis County police are investigating a pursuit of a suspected speeder traveling with three teenagers in January. It ended with Paulino firing at and striking the driver as he took cover in a house.

In 2011, a Velda City traffic stop for expired license plates in nearby Bel-Ridge ended with Paulino tussling with a female driver. The episode resulted in the firing of a county officer assigned to Jennings, for improperly firing his gun.

Paulino said the in-car camera video of the chase that killed Keisha Redding will “exonerate” his officer, but he said he will not release it because of the pending investigation. He said the patrol car was about six seconds behind Hamilton and slowed for the intersection. The chief said his officer did not realize Redding had been hit and continued the chase.

Witnesses told the Post-Dispatch that the officer also sped through the intersection.

“The video clearly shows that we were pursuing, but the officer was so far back,” Paulino said. “It doesn’t matter because a chase is a chase, and an innocent person lost their life.

“I hate to admit this, but it won’t be last.”

Redding’s mother doesn’t want to accept that.

“What did she leave for us to learn?” Njoki Redding asked. “We need to honor her life and not just wait for this to happen to the next person.”

Philosophies differ

Paulino criticized some other departments, such as St. Louis, for their limited pursuit rules.

“Why do you think that historically and statistically, the vast majority of pursuits that occur in St. Louis County all go toward the city?” Paulino asked. “Why do you think that happens? Because the city won’t chase them, and people know that.”

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said that’s not a bad thing if it prevents someone from being killed in the name of enforcing a traffic law. In January, Dotson sent reminders to area police departments that his officers will not join pursuits unless the circumstances fit the St. Louis policy. He also asks departments to fill out surveys on chases that enter the city.

“It’s my job to keep people in the city safe, and we already know pursuits are one of the most dangerous things police can do,” he said. “If people are chasing in the city for things we wouldn’t chase people for, we have a right to know.”

St. Louis County Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Cox said traffic violator pursuits like the one that killed Redding occur regularly among “several” municipal police departments. “We got away from that 20 years ago as supervisors realized there was a very good chance that it wasn’t going to end well, because most end in accidents,” Cox said.

Paulino said no policy can cover every decision officers must make.

“The bad guys leave, and we go after them and unfortunately bad things happen,” he said. “Everything is dictated by the actions of suspect.”

He added, “The focus needs to be brought to the suspect. All he had to do was stop. He was facing two tickets, if that. And just because there were violations that doesn’t mean (the suspect) was going to get” tickets.

A mother mourns

Meanwhile, at Njoki Redding’s home in University City, pictures on the fireplace mantel show the evolution of her daughter’s short life, including a graduation portrait from University City High School.

At a memorial service March 3, Njoki Redding told mourners, including Keisha’s three sisters, how Keisha was one of her “heart babies.”

“Some babies come from our wombs, and others from our hearts, and at 3 months old, Keisha became one of our heart babies,” the mother explained. She and her late husband adopted Keisha from the now-closed Faith House, where Njoki Redding once worked.

The child followed in her mother’s footsteps and had worked at several child care facilities. She also had a second job at a pizza restaurant.

Some of her co-workers went to her funeral, relating stories of how Keisha Redding gave them hope in small gestures, such as words of encouragement. She also was an organ donor, providing two people the gift of sight, said her godmother, Veronica Banks.

“I can hear my voice and her mother’s voice in these people,” Banks said. “It showed me she was listening even when we thought she wasn’t.”

The night before she was killed, Keisha Redding asked her godmother to email her a copy of her résumé so she could print it at the St. Louis County Workforce Development Center in time for an interview at 1 p.m. that Friday. Banks doesn’t know where the interview was supposed to be. It turned out not to matter.

A purse was among Keisha Redding’s belongings returned to her family by the medical examiner’s office.

The résumé was inside.

Reposted from www.stltoday.com by Christine Byers

 

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Scholarship Season

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It’s High School Scholarship Season. Jon spent a dreary-weather morning carefully reading applications from twenty-five darned amazing young men and women from Somerville High School. Paul would be very pleased.
We will select two for our 2016 Paul Farris Memorial Scholarship. Please visit the PaulFarris.org Scholarship pages to learn more.

http://www.paulfarris.org/scholarship.html

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Challenging the rules of the road during high speed chases

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(WXYZ) – They are always dangerous. They are always controversial.

Dozens have been killed in high-speed police pursuits. Now one Michigan lawmaker is fighting to slam on the brakes, but state police are fighting back.

While they can have a bad outcome, police say the chases are necessary.

“I’d like to say I can end every pursuit and no one would ever get hurt,” says MSP Lt. Mike Shaw. “But that’s not something we can do right now.”

Earlier this month, a family of five was devastated in a high-speed pursuit crash. It turned out the driver was chased only because he had no drivers license.

Malaysia, 6, was seriously injured.

“We later found out at the hospital she had a brain injury, she was bleeding in the brain,” says her mother Mary.

Mary has a cracked rib. Her one-year-old niece was also injured. The infant’s father also sustained severe internal injuries.

“Kidney failure, bleeding inside. He had to have his spleen removed. He’s on a ventilator still,” says Mary.

The trouble peaked in 2014, 27 people were killed in pursuit crashes, according to state police. Last year, 21 were killed, nine were in Wayne County.

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Why police departments are reconsidering high-speed pursuits

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A veteran Rockport police officer has come under scrutiny after a high-speed chase he led in Union last December ended with a car crash that left two teenagers dead.

See dashboard camera footage of deadly high-speed chase in Rockport

High-speed chases make for great adrenaline-soaked Hollywood action flicks; however, a growing body of research shows that the risks in real life to the officer, suspect and bystanders from pursuits often outweigh the potential benefit of a suspect’s immediate apprehension.

In response to this growing body of research and public concern about safety, a majority of police departments in Maine and nationally have adopted more restrictive policies governing when an officer may engage in a high-speed chase.

The risks

One of the more comprehensive studies of trends in high-speed chases is a 2008 report by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a Chicago-based law enforcement advocacy group. Researchers working with the association examined records of 7,737 pursuits between 2001 and 2007 that 56 police agencies submitted to an online database.

The authors found that a quarter of all high-speed chases ended when either the pursuing officer or suspect crashed. Suspects were most at risk for injury, accounting for 65 percent of all chase-related injuries. The next most at-risk group wasn’t police officers but bystanders, who accounted for 21 percent of chase-related injuries.

Agencies reported that 81 percent of chase-related injuries were minor, while 16 percent of injuries were serious. While fatalities occurred in only 3 percent of chase-related crashes, suspects and bystanders were most at risk for dying as a result of a high-speed chase.

Unlike their long-lasting Hollywood counterparts, most high-speed chases end within five minutes after an officer turns on the blue lights. So the pursuing officer has only a small window in which to resolve the chase safely.

Half of all crashes happen within the first two minutes of an officer engaging in a pursuit, and 83 percent happen within five minutes, according to a 1998 report by the National Institutes of Justice. The fatal chase in Union last December lasted about four minutes before the fleeing suspect crashed.

Some 72 percent of high-speed chases end for reasons beyond the control of the pursuing officers, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police report. By and large, the suspect has the most control over the situation, with pursuits ending because the suspect willingly stopped, crashed or successfully eluded the officer. Only 9 percent of pursuits ended because the officer discontinued the chase.

“When police agencies consider the costs and benefits of pursuits, they should also note this high level of uncertainty and lack of control that they often have during pursuit situations, which can certainly increase the ante for choosing to pursue,” the report reads.

Restrictive policies

Given the high risk of injury or death for an officer, suspect or bystander during a chase, a majority of departments nationwide since the 1990s have adopted more restrictive policies to limit pursuits. Half of those policies allow pursuits only for more serious offenses, such as violent felonies, according to the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s model pursuit policy that serves as the baseline for Maine police departments, for instance, advises officers to pursue a suspect only when he or she poses an imminent threat to the public or if the suspect has committed a violent crime.

Minor offenses such as traffic violations are a no-go for high-speed chases under most circumstances.

“Under many conditions, abandoning a pursuit may be the most prudent decision a law enforcement officer can make,” the policy reads.

It advises further that an officer abandon a chase once the suspect has been identified and the officer is confident the suspect can safely apprehended later.

Even though policies discourage high-speed pursuits for minor violations, only 9 percent of pursuits reviewed as part of the International Association of Chiefs of Police report involved suspects who committed a violent felony.

Police in 42 percent of pursuits were chasing people suspected of violating a traffic law. In another 18 percent of cases, police chased people suspected of driving stolen cars, and another 15 percent of cases involved people suspected of driving while intoxicated.

Pursuit policies, including the state’s model policy, give officers flexibility to determine whether the risks posed by chasing a suspect outweigh the benefits of apprehension. Because officers can easily get wrapped up in the chase, a supervisor has the authority under Maine’s model policy to call off a pursuit at any time if the conditions become too hazardous.

In some cases, pursuing a suspect for a traffic violation may be the most prudent decision. But once an officer switches on the blue lights and gives chase, what began as a routine traffic stop becomes far more dangerous and unpredictable.

Counterintuitively, suspects concerned about the punishment from running from the police are five times more likely to take extreme risks to evade police, according to a 1998 study in the journal Criminal Justice and Behavior, one of the only studies to examine high-speed chases from the suspect’s perspective. Of the suspects surveyed for the study, more than two-thirds who reported they were concerned for their safety during a chase were willing to take extreme risks to evade police. About half of suspects were willing to run at all costs.

“Rather than providing a deterrent effect, thinking about the punishment apparently acted as an incentive to try harder to escape,” the study reads.

In fact, the study suggests the safest way for an officer to end a high-speed chase is slow down and turn off the blue lights. Once the suspect sees the officer isn’t in pursuit, the suspect will resume driving at safe speeds within 2 miles, removing the risk to the public.

After all, a suspect can usually be safely arrested a little further down the road.

Reposted from www.bangordailynews.com by Christopher Burns

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2 killed in high-speed chase in San Bernadino

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Two people were killed in a crash in San Bernardino early Monday after a brief high-speed pursuit by a sheriff’s deputy, authorities said.

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy began chasing a speeding black Honda in the city of Colton shortly after 5 a.m., said Eileen Hards, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino Police Department, which is handling the investigation.

The deputy tried to pull the driver over, to no avail, and “backed off the vehicle because he was driving so erratically,” Hards said. The driver continued driving north at speeds estimated at 80 to 100 mph, Hards said.

As the deputy tried to find the driver, he saw “smoke in the distance” and called it in to the Police Department, Hards said.

The Honda sped through a stoplight at the intersection of Rialto and Mt. Vernon avenues in the city of San Bernardino, slamming into an eastbound 2008 Ford Mustang, Hards said.

The vehicles crashed through the fence of the nearby business M&M Alternators, hit its building and came to rest in the parking lot, authorities said. The impact was so great that the Mustang’s engine came completely out of the vehicle and landed in the middle of the intersection, Hards said.

“The Mustang was completely totaled,” Hards said. “It basically took the front end off.”

The driver of the Honda and the male passenger of the Mustang were immediately killed on impact, Hards said. The driver of the Mustang suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital, Hards said. There were no other passengers in the vehicles.

The identities of the vehicles’ occupants had not yet been determined Monday morning, Hards said.

The intersection of Mt. Vernon and Rialto was expected to remain closed for several hours, she said.

Content reposted from www.latimes.com by Hailey Branson

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Hey Toyota. It’s Time To Remove The Prius Police Chase Ads

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UPDATE:

We’re waiting for a more acceptable Toyota USA response to the highly disrespectful Prius #PoliceChase advertising. Jon Farris, Pursuit For Change Chief Advocate, is still attempting to arrange a meeting with the Marketing VP.

Our recent tweet and real-life Prius police chase points to this national problem. “Here’s an example of a dangerous in your Prius. Bad Marketing. Real Life”  

FULL STORY:

MONTPELIER — Thursday morning, police engaged in a vehicle pursuit of a 35-year-old Middlesex man who reportedly burglarized the Skinny Pancake.

At about 8:30 a.m., the Montpelier Police Department says it received a call that the Skinny Pancake, on Main Street, was burglarized. The caller, an employee, had interrupted the burglary in progress, according to a statement issued by police.

Police say the employee confronted a male suspect with a bandana covering his face, who was trying to steal a safe from the restaurant. The suspect then fled the scene in a silver 2006 Toyota Prius.

Police say the employee identified the suspect as Travis McGurran of Middlesex.

At 9:15 a.m., a Montpelier police detective located the suspect vehicle in Montpelier, according to the statement. McGurran then led police on a vehicle pursuit through the city and into Berlin. The chase ended on Rowell Hill Road in Berlin.

The pursuit lasted about 15 minutes said Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos. He said it was a high-speed chase at some points, and defined it in an interview Friday as dangerous.

McGurran was taken into custody at that location with the assistance of Berlin police.

Police say McGurran was found to be in possession of a substance believed to be heroin. There was also evidence of crack cocaine in the vehicle, according to the statement.

At Wednesday evening’s City Council meeting, Facos restated a point he has been making for more a year. Addiction, he said, fuels nearly all burglaries and robberies in the area.

“Part of the reason we need to get people off addiction, particularly heroin or opiate addiction is because it is directly related to the spikes in our burglaries,” he said. “I don’t like coming here every other week saying ‘Yup, all the burglaries and robberies are because of addiction.’”

Facos has been rethinking law enforcement’s approach of helping addicts get treatment. In March, Facos announced a new initiative for Montpelier Police called Project Safe Catch. The aim of the effort is for addicts to be able to ask police for help. If an addict comes into the station or approaches a police officer in the capital city requesting addiction treatment help, the police will act as a pathway to assist them.

Facos calls this root-cause problem solving.

“We came up with something based on a proven model in Massachusetts and Maine,” he said.

Facos said right now Montpelier PD and Barre PD are working to receive a three-year smart policing grant that would bring a task force and more police intelligence to the area. Addiction would be a focus if the grant is received.

“What that will do is also provide us a much bigger intelligence-led effort to make sure we are maximizing our resources, and part of that is also looking at any reductions of crime,” he said.

On Friday, Facos said Thursday’s burglary and chase were consistent with the drug and crime problem he has been seeing.

McGurran was arraigned in Washington County criminal court Thursday morning on the charges of burglary, attempting to elude and driving with a suspended license. He pleaded not guilty. McGurran was lodged at the Northeast Regional Correctional Facility for lack of $1,000 bail.

gina.tron @timesargus.com

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Family hurt in police chase speaks out

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FLINT (WJRT) – (03/14/16) – A 6-year-old girl and her uncle are still in critical condition at Hurley – innocent victims of a police chase that ended with a crash.

It happened late at night March 6 on a busy street on Flint’s north side. Police tried to pull over a woman for driving without a license. Instead, she took off – hitting a car with five people in it.

“I keep praying to God to heal my baby and heal my brother,” said Mary Saunders, whose daughter is in critical condition at Hurley Medical Center.

Mary’s brother, Antonio, was also hurt in the crash. Antonio is showing signs of improvement – moving his eyes and feet – but doctors say 6-year-old Malaysia has a traumatic brain injury; she’s still unresponsive.

“I can’t hear her voice, I can’t see her move,” Mary said.

Watch the interview here

Mary was in the car with Malaysia, Antonio, Antonio’s girlfriend and her baby. They were coming home from the laundromat. Michigan State Police were trying to pull over a woman on Carpenter Road on Flint’s north side. As soon as she saw the sirens and lights, she took off, hitting Mary and her family’s car.

“I just can’t believe something so simple would cause someone to risk hurting someone else, taking that chance,” Mary said.

Now, Mary is visiting her brother and daughter at Hurley every day. Her uncle, Louis, came in town to help the family out and is shocked at what happened.

“As a family, we are pro-police, we appreciate what they do for us in our community. But we also have to question the law in this particular instance. Was it worth it for what this lady did to put our family in jeopardy?” Louis said.

“I just ask people to pray for my baby and I just want justice,” Mary said.

The woman who hit the family was in jail for 48 hours, then released. Genesee County prosecutors say the case is still under investigation, and they’re waiting for a police report.

Reposted from ABC 12 by Natalie Zarowny

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Are police chases of non-violent felons worth the risk?

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DALLAS — Police chases sometimes end tragically.

In 2005, 21-year-old Guillermo Mendoza, an innocent bystander, was killed when Dallas police officers were chasing a drug suspect and crashed.

Mendoza’s brother told News 8 at the time his brother died for no reason.

“This time, it was my brother,” he said. “Next time, maybe someone else.”

Mendoza’s case was one of the reasons then-police chief David Kunkle changed the pursuit policy in 2006. He made it one of the most restrictive policies in the nation, allowing officers to only chase violent felons.

DISD Police Chief Craig Miller was with DPD at the time.

“It gets back to, is what they have done wrong enough to put our lives and citizens lives and that person’s life in jeopardy to pursue them?” Miller said.

In 2005, the year before DPD changed its policy, there were 354 chases — almost one a day. Twenty-one officers and 21 civilians were injured in the pursuits.

Since then, chase numbers have dropped dramatically and there has only been one person killed in a pursuit since the change.

“As police officers, we are issued weapons and we have bullets in them and we use them in situations where we are put in a position to use deadly force,” Miller said. “A vehicle is no less deadly in an incident that causes harm to someone.”

Yet, many law enforcement agencies won’t change their policies, under pressure from officers who believe not chasing lets bad guys go free.

Chief Miller adopted the Dallas police chase policy at DISD. He says the risk of catching minor offenders isn’t worth the risk to public safety.

Yesterday, Mesquite police chased after suspects accused of credit card fraud at a hotel. Those suspects then crashed into a school bus full of elementary students.

Luckily, no children were hurt.

Mesquite Police Chief Charles Cato did not return our phone calls or messages Friday. We wanted to ask him if he would take a look at changing the department’s policy to match the Dallas Police Department’s.

Copyright 2016 WFAA

Reposted from WFAA by Rebecca Lopez

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Chase ends when suspects hit school bus in Dallas

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DALLAS — A police pursuit ended Thursday afternoon when the suspects’ vehicle crashed into a school bus in northeast Dallas.

The chase began at a Fairfield Inn and Suites on the 4000 block of Towne Crossing Boulevard in Mesquite around 2:15 p.m., police said. A Mesquite police spokesperson said Thursday night the suspects were wanted for credit card fraud at the hotel.

The suspects, who have not been identified, crashed into a Dallas ISD school bus near the intersection of Skillman Street and Abrams Road in Dallas around 3:15 p.m.

“I was scared and I jumped out of my seat,” said fourth grader Pauvan Mung.

Two male suspects were apprehended at the scene and a female suspect was arrested later at the hotel.

There were approximately 60 children on the school bus, according to the company that operates the school district’s buses. No injuries were reported.

“We were turning left, and then the car was at maximum speed,” said fifth grader Kimberly Arreola. She says a red car hit the back left corner of the bus.

The school bus came from Hotchkiss Elementary. A different bus was sent to pick up the children and complete the route.

“We didn’t know what was happening, so the bus driver stopped and went outside and it was, like, an accident,” Mung said.

Many say it is amazing no children were hurt, but plenty were shaken and upset as they waited for their nervous parents to come pick them up. The story behind this crash was no source of comfort.

Mesquite police say staff at the Fairfield Inn at I-30 and 635 called Thursday after 2 p.m. about a group of people using a stolen credit card. When officers arrived, two suspects drove off in a red car, starting the chase that lead them to northwest Dallas. That pair was arrested after the crash, and a third suspect was handcuffed back at the hotel hours later.

By then, at the scene, the crash had been cleared and the kids had calmed down.

“I think it’s okay,” Mung said. “We are safe.”

But it’ll likely be a restless night for many of their parents, left wondering if this chase that risked their kids lives was worth it.

News 8 has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Mesquite Police Department for a copy of their policy on police chases.

Copyright 2016 WFAA

Reposted from  WFAA

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Police chase goes through golf course

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ST. PAUL, Minn. – A man fleeing police was arrested after he took the officers on a chase through a St. Paul golf course.

According to St. Paul Police, a 50-year-old man was driving north on Western Avenue around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, near Sherburne Avenue when he failed to make a complete stop at a stop sign.

View pictures of the golf course damage

Officers in a fully marked squad car turned on their emergency lights and sirens in an attempt to pull the man over. But that’s when police say he took off.

A short police chase ensued into the Phalen Park golf course, resulting in damage to holes 11 and 13.

Golfer scattering car chase under police review – ABC News

Officials say the damage wasn’t too extensive — mostly just tire tracks and ruts.

The suspect was eventually arrested inside Phalen Park.

Reposeted from KARE-11

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Statement in Government Technology

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Milwaukee PD to Outfit Squad Cars with Fireable GPS Trackers

Officers say the technology will allow for a safer, more focused, more effective apprehension of a suspect who flees.

TNS) — The Milwaukee Police Department will outfit squad cars with devices that can fire GPS units onto fleeing vehicles to track them without engaging in high-speed chases, city officials announced Wednesday.

The move comes as the department continues to get mixed responses to its restrictive pursuit policy, which requires officers to have probable cause that someone in the car is committing a violent felony or is “a clear and immediate threat to the safety of others” before pursuing them.

Supporters say the policy is saving lives, while critics argue it allows criminals to get away.

The new devices could be effective in apprehending criminals who exploit the pursuit policy by tinting the windows of stolen or rented cars to prevent police from seeing inside and then speeding away, as detailed in a Journal Sentinel story last month.

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn called use of the GPS technology, created by StarChase LLC in Virginia Beach, a “step in the right direction.” He again noted his reason for tightening the pursuit policy five years ago was to reduce deaths and injuries.

The policy does not allow pursuits “solely for traffic infractions” or because a driver refuses to stop. It was changed after four people were killed by drivers fleeing police between Dec. 31, 2009, and March 1, 2010. Three of the deaths occurred over two days.

The No. 1 priority of the pursuit policy is the “protection of innocent lives,”Flynn told reporters last month.

The number of non-pursuit reports, detailing incidents in which officers did not pursue suspects, is sharply up this year as compared to 2014.

As of July 21, police department supervisors had filed 1,498 non-pursuit reports, according to a document provided to a Common Council committee last month. In all of 2014, there were 689 such reports filed. In the four years before that, the number of non-pursuit reports was fewer than 40 per year.

Data from the department also showed the percentage of pursuits resulting in crashes dropped from about 40% in 2009, before the policy changed, to 25% this year. Three people have died since 2011 in chases, compared to five deaths in 2009 and 2010, the records show.

The StarChase technology will allow “for a safer, more focused, more effective apprehension of a suspect who flees,” Milwaukee police officials said in a news release.

The Police Department has been researching the technology since May and participated in several vendor demonstrations before deciding to move forward with “an initial deployment and field test,” according to a news release. It was not clear how many squad cars will be part of the test.

A standard StarChase unit costs just under $5,000. A Milwaukee police spokesman said a final cost has not been determined.

The department will use available asset forfeiture funds to have the units installed and in use on the streets within several weeks, the news release said.

Ald. Bob Donovan, a mayoral candidate and frequent critic of the pursuit policy, expressed doubts about the technology and its costs.

“I am all for engaging technology in the fight against crime,” Donovan said. “Having said that, I think the verdict is still out on this particular technology. It’s very new. I don’t know that Police Department even budgeted for an expenditure like this.”

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Common Council President Michael Murphy and Ald. Terry Witkowski, chairman of council’s public safety committee, all expressed support for the StarChase technology in a news release.

HOW IT WORKS

StarChase uses battery-powered GPS trackers. A compressed-air launcher, mounted behind the grille of a police car, uses a laser to target the fleeing vehicle. When an officer fires the device, a tracker — sometimes called a “GPS bullet” or tag — is released. The tag has an adhesive so it can stick to the fleeing car.

Dispatchers and officers can then track the car on a computer and make tactical decisions based on the information.

According to a 2014 report for the National Institute of Justice, officers at two agencies using the technology reported the most complicated aspect of StarChase was aiming it, especially when traveling at high speeds.

In some early testing, the GPS trackers bounced off targeted cars, but the manufacturer corrected the problem and officers did not experience any more problems, the report said.

Another concern raised in the report was timing. StarChase requires a “warm up” before deployment, which takes about 10 seconds. In one instance, an officer was concerned about the potential of a target vehicle fleeing and armed the StarChase device in anticipation of the stop. The traffic stop didn’t occur immediately and StarChase “cycled off,” so when the officer tried to use it, it was not ready.

Still, the report concluded that early evaluations showed “great promise for StarChase and its ability to be a game changer for law enforcement.”

Jonathan Farris, former chairman of the advocacy group PursuitSAFETY, says he is excited that Milwaukee police and other agencies are trying the new tool.

“If we begin to deploy this technology, we can be more restrictive in our pursuits, we can protect our citizens in a much greater way,” said Farris, whose son, a bystander, was killed eight years go in a police pursuit crash near Boston.

The challenge for Milwaukee and every city, he said, is funding.

The use of GPS tracking also raises privacy and Constitutional questions.

There likely isn’t a problem as long as the technology is used when a police officer has the equivalent of probable cause and does not have time to get a warrant, an American Civil Liberties Union analyst has written. But tracking should end as soon as police catch up to the fleeing vehicle, the ACLU contends. Police also should not delay stopping the vehicle as a way to learn more about the driver via the GPS.

A department policy governing the use of the GPS trackers will be developed, a Milwaukee police spokesman said.

Chris Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said the situation seemed similar to the department’s initial rollout of automated license plate readers and body cameras.

“They have a track record, it seems, of buying the hardware first and then thinking about the policy,” Ahmuty said. “(They should) think about the policy and how you’re going to actually use it, and then see if the hardware does what you want it do, rather than the other way around.”

Journal Sentinel reporter John Diedrich contributed to this report.

©2015 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Keeping the public safe during a high speed chase

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SHAWANO, Wis. — – A 29-year-old Pulaski man was taken into custody early Friday morning after leading law enforcement on a high speed chase through three counties. His name has not been released.

The Shawano County Sheriff’s Office was carrying out an attempt to locate from the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and found the vehicle around 11:30 Thursday night, according to the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department. They tried to stop the man, but he did not stop and proceeded to drive 86 miles through Shawano, Waupaca and Marathon Counties, the Sheriff’s office said.

The Marathon County Sheriff’s Department eventually stopped the vehicle and arrested the 29-year-old.

The number of high speed chases is on the rise in Wisconsin, according to the USA Today Network. It found the number reported last year was a record high.

However, that doesn’t mean the public is at risk. Law enforcement has specific protocol to determine whether or not to pursue a high speed chase.

“The amount of traffic on the roadway we have to consider, the demographics of the area of the pursuit,” said Wisconsin State Patrol Officer Scott Reignier.
“Is it happening in a city, in a residential area, out in the country?”
The Shawano County Sheriff’s department, involved in the chase overnight, knows how dangerous those chases can be.
“We lost a deputy a couple decades ago, he was responding to a high speed chase,” said Adam Bieber, Shawano County Sheriff.
“So our officers, our deputies, our administration know full well the dangers of high speed chases.”
Safety of both officers and the public is the number one priority for law enforcement.
“There are a lot of things to consider when being involved in pursuit, the most important being the danger to the public and reasonable safety,” said Scott Reignier, Wisconsin State Patrol Trooper. “At what point does the pursuit become more dangerous to the public than the actual behavior of the violator.”

The man involved in the overnight chase will be charged on a few different counts in Shawano and Marathon Counties, according to Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber.

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Jon Farris op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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The legal system has failed in its treatment of Jets’ defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson (“Richardson draws fine, no jail time,” Jan. 27).

To let Richardson off with a slap on the wrist sends the wrong signal about high-speed police pursuits and the inherent risks. Mr. Richardson’s poor decision to flee — at speeds topping 140 mph — did more than temporarily endanger himself. His actions threatened the safety of his passengers as well as the pursuing officers and countless innocent civilians who unknowingly ended up in his path.

With his decision to let Richardson dodge serious penalty, the prosecutor and judge missed an opportunity to send the right message that fleeing law enforcement officials is totally unacceptable.

Each day in the United States, one person dies from a police pursuit and one-third of those fatalities are innocent victims. Chases are inherently dangerous for pursuing officers, with the potential to wreak havoc even greater than the loaded handgun found in Richardson’s car.

While St. Louis appears content to all but reward reckless actions, other police departments around the country are adopting tougher pursuit policies, tougher sentencing, and alternatives to pursuits including GPS tracking technologies to curb high-speed chases altogether.

On a personal level, I am appalled by the decision in this case. I live every day with the pain of losing my son, who was an innocent bystander killed by a vehicle fleeing police. I hope that by raising awareness of this critical issue, future judgments deal severe sentences, and ultimately pursuits like Richardson’s are lessened and nearly eliminated.

To get involved with this important work, please sign our Change.org petition.

Jonathan Farris – Verona, WI

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