All posts tagged: #ThereAreOtherOptions

Thirteen Birthdays; Remembering Paul

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Thirteen Birthdays; Remembering Paul

By Jonathan Farris, Chief Advocate, Pursuit For Change

 

Paul was killed on May 27, 2007. ​That was the worst day of my life.​

November 2, 2019 will be the thirteenth birthday not spent with him. No birthday wishes. No birthday beer. No birthday cake. No birthday celebration. ​No birthday phone call. ​Paul would have been 36. (see PaulFarris.org)

 

 

Since Paul’s death I have actively engaged to help prevent other innocent people and law enforcement officers suffering ​injury and death as a result of unnecessary pursuits.

I do this for you, but perhaps of equal importance, I do it for myself. This is a way to manage the unfathomable grief of losing ​my child. This is my PTSD therapy. This is my emotional release. It is ​the well from which I draw ​the ​strength to get up every morning.

There’s an excellent TEDx talk by Penny Kreitzer, a mom who lost her 21 year-old daughter. Her talk is entitled, “How to speak about the loss of a child.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV54J3JSdBg.  Perhaps she can better explain ​a grieving parent’s journey better than I.

In the Pursuit For Change and PursuitResponse world, a Presidential Executive Order was signed ​in October​ 2019​. The EO established a Commission on Law Enforcement and ​an Administration of Justice, which will study issues critical to ensuring that communities are safe​ ​and that those who enforce and administer the law are properly supported. Some areas of focus for the Commission, as summarized by IACP, include:

    • Challenges to law enforcement from mental illness, homelessness, substance abuse, and other social factors that influence crime;
    • The recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of law enforcement officers;
    • The physical safety, health, and wellness of law enforcement officers;
    • Steps that can be taken to better integrate education, employment, social services, and public health into efforts to reduce crime;
    • The effectiveness of law enforcement training methods;
    • The Commission will deliver a report and recommendations to the Attorney General within one year.

Although not specifically defined at this point, we have support from Department of Justice to actively participate and work toward the inclusion of specific training and technologies including everything related to the management of and reduction of vehicular pursuits which always endanger officers and citizens. This is great news and I’ll have more to report as we head into 2020.

Law enforcement has always and will continue to ​get “beat up” by the press and others, including me. And some boneheaded actions deserve calling out. So when it comes to unnecessary police chases, I’ll continue to press hard.

But with that said, the vast majority of actions taken by law enforcement professionals are warranted and necessary to protect us all, including some violent-felony vehicular pursuits.  For their heroic actions, I truly support and thank LEOs for their public service. And I’m incredibly hopeful​ that, if we’re able to provide LEOs with better tools and more ​/ better ​training, ​we will see reductions in the number of pursuits across the US.​ This, in turn, will save citizen and law enforcement officer lives.​

 

Perhaps, after so many years, you’ve grown tired of reading and listening about my grief management and my pursuit reduction-related activities.

I won’t apologize. Nor shall I stop writing and speaking. I cannot, because it’s not yet time.

 

Happy Birthday Paul. I love you immensely and miss you even more.

Dad

 

From a book I recently read. 
The narrator describing a man after the violent death of his child:

Such a man is like a dreamer who wakes from a dream of grief to greater sorrow yet. All that he loves has now become a torment to him. A pin has been pulled from the access of the universe. Whatever one takes ones eye from threatens to flee away.
 
Such a man is lost to us. He moves, he speaks, but such a man is less than a shadow among all that he beholds. There is no picture of him possible. The smallest mark upon the page exaggerates his presence.
 
Who would seek the company such a man. That which speaks to us one to another and is beyond our words and beyond our lifting or the turning of a hand to say that this is the way that my heart is, or this. That thing was lost in him.
– Cormac McCarthy, The Crossing
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Deputy’s Actions Prior To Deadly Missouri Crash

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I was recently interviewed by Harrison Keegan. I’m always happy to speak with the media. And in this case, I was pleased that the deputy followed procedures and did what was necessary to protect citizens as best he was able.

However, I am heartbroken about the deaths of the Jamin Seabert, 41, Kimberly Seabert, 39, and Braeden Seabert, 19, caused by a drug and alcohol-abuse driver.

Jon

 

Original Story at:  https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2019/08/08/greene-county-deputys-actions-before-glenstone-fatal-crash-experts-approve/1953193001/

Pursuit experts say Greene County deputy acted appropriately before fatal crash

Dash cam video shows suspect in fatal accident at Kearney and Glenstone fleeing from Greene County deputy. Andrew Jansen, News-Leader

The outcome was the worst-case scenario.

Authorities say a reckless driver who fled from a Greene County sheriff’s deputy Saturday night caused a major crash at the intersection of Glenstone Avenue and Kearney Street.

Three innocent people were killed, and the sheriff’s office has launched two separate investigations — one looking into the criminal culpability of the fleeing driver and another examining whether the deputies involved in the chase followed department procedure.

Sheriff Jim Arnott said he will wait for the Professional Standards Division to complete its investigation before saying anything definitive, but his first impression is that the pursuing deputy acted appropriately.

Two national police pursuit experts interviewed by the News-Leader said they agree with the sheriff.

 

The News-Leader asked the experts to review video clips of the pursuit from the TV show “Live PD” and the deputy’s dashboard camera, along with additional context provided by court documents and an interview with Sheriff Arnott.

While both experts said they had some concerns about the overall handling of the incident, they said they would not fault the pursuing deputy for his actions.

“The deputy wasn’t perfect, but he did probably everything that could have been expected of him,” said Dennis Kenney, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who has co-authored a book on police pursuits.

Kenney said the deputy briefly went into a lane of oncoming traffic as the suspect was fleeing the crash scene on foot, and that is a move Kenney would advise against. But overall, Kenney said the deputy’s response to the situation was reasonable.

While they didn’t fault the pursuing deputy, Kenney and another expert — Pursuit for Change founder Jonathan Farris — said they had concerns about the department’s use of spike strips during the pursuit.

The sheriff’s office says it deployed spike strips and took out two of the fleeing suspect’s tires about a mile-and-a-half before the fatal crash.

Kenney and Farris said they will be interested to see whether the investigation determines taking out the tires made the fleeing truck more difficult to control and might have contributed to the crash.

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Advocating for Change. Another Dad’s Journey

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Phil Warshauer’s daughter Stephanie was killed in 2018 when police chased a stolen vehicle. Stephanie was one of FIVE (5) who died in that unnecessary collision. That story of her death is linked here:

NC chase that killed 5 was based on false stolen car report, police say

Since that time, Phil and his family have advocated tirelessly to help reduce unnecessary chases. One of their success stories is below in a story By Nancy McLaughlin nancy.mclaughlin@greensboro.com in the Greensboro (SC) News & Record. That story is below.

I’ve had the honor to speak with Phil and I understand all that he’s going through and all that he is feeling. Stephanie’s death breaks my heart, because like my Paul, it was totally unnecessary. Only through advocacy efforts will we ever gain positive changes that save innocent lives.

Jon

 

New Guilford Sheriff’s Office policy places more restrictions on chases

Original story HERE: https://www.greensboro.com/news/local_news/new-guilford-sheriff-s-office-policy-places-more-restrictions-on/article_210ee869-399d-58be-aa5b-acc2de07a663.html

July 16, 2019  GREENSBORO — The new way police chases will be handled by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is drawing praise from the families of two women who were involved in a Battleground Avenue pursuit almost two years ago that ended their lives and three others.

Under the new policy from Sheriff Danny Rogers, deputies won’t be permitted to engage in pursuits involving crimes that are simple, nonviolent misdemeanors such as shoplifting. It was a report of a stolen vehicle which initiated the Battleground Avenue chase just before midnight on a Saturday in September 2017.

However, for serious crimes or if a person is considered violent — a carjacker, for instance — that would be justification for a deputy to initiate a pursuit.

“Sheriff Rogers was open to our suggestions,” said attorney Drew Brown, who represents the families of Stephanie Louise Warshauer and Alyssa Mackenzie Bolick. “The concept is you can get the criminal later. You don’t need to involve Battleground, Saturday night and 130 miles per hour.”

The policy took effect in May. The families of Warshauer and Bolick began pushing for the changes after the Sept. 30, 2017 accident that left five people dead, saying they wanted to see something good come from the tragedy.

Phil Warshauer, whose daughter Stephanie was driving the Optima that was hit, was interviewed as part of a new training video which deputies will see annually. He has said that he also wanted to see law enforcement officers be able to go home at night to their families.

“What keeps me going is Stephanie’s strength,” Warshauer said at the time of the crash. “She would be very upset that she lost a friend, and she would say, ‘Dad, how can that happen?’

“She would say, ‘Dad, don’t let that happen again.’”

Investigators say an Acura driven by Deshon Lee Manuel was trying to evade Deputy C. Lineback’s Dodge Charger as he sped through a light at the intersection of Battleground Avenue and New Garden Road at 130 mph when it struck the Optima carrying Warshauer and Bolick with enough force to push the car another 200 feet.

Manuel along with his two passengers — Theresa Monique Kingcade and Bruce Wayne Hunt — died at the scene.

A wrongful death suit by the estate of Kingcade was dismissed this spring without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled within a year.

The lawsuit blamed the officer for setting off a chain of events that ended in the deaths.

Most kinds of lawsuits against the state and individuals acting in a government capacity — such as law enforcement — are covered by sovereign immunity.

“It’s an awful set of circumstances,” said attorney Richard C. Metcalf, who represented Kingcade’s family.

Barnes defended his deputy at the time, saying the people inside the Acura drew the deputy’s attention because he could see them ducking at times and looking in his direction. And when the vehicle between them moved over as traffic began to flow, the Acura also moved over, keeping a car between them.

The deputy said at the time he steered his patrol car behind the Acura and ran the license plate number through a police database.

The vehicle then turned into a nearby apartment complex.

“He’s thinking there’s something not right here,” Barnes said of the deputy at the time.

As the Acura exited the apartment complex onto Battleground Avenue, it headed in the opposite direction. It was then that Lineback was alerted the car had been reported stolen.

The Acura accelerated. A chase ensued.

Lineback activated his siren and lights, which also turned on his dashboard camera.

As was policy at the time, the deputy radioed in to a supervisor. The supervisor didn’t have time to respond, Barnes said, because the chase had barely started when it ended 62 seconds later in the deadly crash.

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OP ED City Should Change Police Pursuit Policy . Urban Milwaukee

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OP ED
City Should Change Police Pursuit Policy

940 pursuits in one year? Police should return to using effective GPS technology tracking program.

By May 27th, 2019 11:43 am

PLEASE SEE THE ORIGINAL POST at the Urban Milwaukee website:
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2019/05/27/op-ed-city-should-change-police-pursuit-policy/

 

On Friday, May 17th, Urban Milwaukee published an article highlighting a stolen vehicle police pursuit on North 45th and West Center Street. The fleeing vehicle ultimately rear-ended a taxi cab and crashed. Several bystanders were injured, but luckily they survived the ordeal.

In 2018, after the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (MFPC) mandate that the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) weaken its nationally recognized pursuit policy, pursuits and these stories have become an everyday occurrence. In that one year, police pursuits rose from 369 to 940. Really; 940 police chases.

The article mentioned that, “the City-County Carjacking and Reckless Driving Task Force is set to meet for the first time on Friday, May 17th at City Hall. Among the topics likely to be discussed during that meeting and the Fire and Police Commission meeting were whether there are new police pursuit technologies that could help improve safety.”

Really? This is ironic because in 2018 MPD ended a pursuit reduction technology program. MPD and MFPC appear to be ignoring their previously successful use of GPS tracking technology. MPD ceased in this program 2018 and canceled already-approved additional GPS units.

It is simply a fact that continuing and expanding this program would have saved innocent lives and reduced bystander and officer injuries. These GPS unit purchases are public record and Urban Milwaukee covered this as well. Has anyone from MPD or the MFPC explained why? And now they are “looking for technologies that could help improve safety?”

Here is information from a recent article, “Are Police Pursuits Out of Control?“, written by Bruce Murphy in Urban Milwaukee and published on Thursday, April 25th:

Under (former Milwaukee PD Chief) Flynn the agency adopted new technology developed by a private company called StarChase, whereby police shoot at GPS “bullet” about the size of a soup can that can stick to a fleeing car.

A 2014 MPD report found it is effective in 55 percent of cases, meaning it sticks to a car and an arrest is later made. That compares to MPD’s horrible apprehension rate of 38 percent for 2018’s 940 chases.

“During the year 2016 MPD deployed this technology 156 times, successfully attaching it to fleeing vehicles 112 times,” a past FPC report noted.

The approach enables police to avoid high-speed chases that often are aggressive adrenaline-fueled contests between officers and a suspect that lose track of innocent bystanders in a dense urban setting.

Whereas the StarChase devices “give officers time to [let the adrenaline high pass], so by the time the pursuit is over, they can think more clearly and make better tactical decisions,” as MPD Inspector Terrence Gordon told Governing magazine in 2016. Yet since Chief Flynn retired, there has been no discussion of this technology.

So I ask, why are MFPC and MPD leadership ignoring their own past success with this technology? And of greater importance, why are these same officials allowing multiple dangerous pursuits every single day?

Of course technology alone is not a panacea. An intelligent and measured pursuit policy must balance enforcement with the risk to innocent citizens and officers. But that is certainly not occurring under current MPD policies, because tragically in 2018 one young officer was killed, twenty officers were injured, and numerous bystanders were killed and injured. And the carnage is continuing unabated into 2019.

Milwaukee has already exceeded its $5 million reserve for police settlements and now must borrow to settle lawsuits. This is after not properly considering or, more likely, ignoring available risk mitigation strategies (unless, of course, one counts the billboard campaign, which was a colossal waste of money).

No one pursuit-related solution will solve Milwaukee’s crime problems. Managing pursuits in the 21st century requires a mix of appropriate policies, extensive officer training and effective use of all available tools.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission must explain to taxpayers why they and MPD ceased supporting a pursuit reduction program that was working. And as MFPC and MPD reflect upon their mind-boggling 940 pursuits, reconsider the fact that only effective technology combined with smarter pursuit driving policies will help tip MPD’s abysmal pursuit statistics back in the direction of saving lives and reducing injuries and property damage.

It’s clear that Milwaukee’s current pursuit policies and actions are costing too many lives and emptying city coffers.

Jonathan Farris is Chief Advocate for Pursuit For Change. Jon’s son Paul was an innocent bystander killed in a horrific police pursuit crash outside of Boston in May 2007.

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Milwaukee’s Out of Control Police Pursuits

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by Jonathan Farris
Chief Advocate, Pursuit For Change
May 24, 2019

The following letter was sent to Wisconsin papers today.

To-the-Editor-MFPC-and-MPD-police-chase-policies-05242019.pdf

To the Editor

On Friday, May 17th, Urban Milwaukee published an article highlighting a stolen vehicle police pursuit on North 45th and West Center Street. The fleeing vehicle ultimately rear-ended a taxi cab and crashed. In 2018, after the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission (MFPC) 2017 mandate that the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) weaken its nationally recognized pursuit policy, pursuits and these stories have become an everyday occurrence.

The article mentioned that the “City-County Carjacking and Reckless Driving Task Force is set to meet for the first time on Friday, May 17th at City Hall. Among the topics likely to be discussed during that meeting and the Fire and Police Commission meeting were whether there are new police pursuit technologies that could help improve safety.”

Really? This is ironic as both MPD and MFPC are ignoring their previously successful use of GPS tracking technology, a program which MPD ended in 2018. This, along with a now-cancelled contract to purchase more systems, would have saved innocent lives and reduced bystander and officer injuries. These GPS unit purchases are public record, and in fact, Urban Milwaukee covered this issue as well.

In a recent article Are Police Pursuits Out of Control?, written by Bruce Murphy and published on Thursday, April 25th, it stated:

Under (former Milwaukee PD Chief) Flynn the agency adopted new technology developed by a private company called StarChase, whereby police shoot at GPS “bullet” about the size of a soup can that can stick to a fleeing car.
A 2014 MPD report found it is effective in 55 percent of cases, meaning it sticks to a car and an arrest is later made. That compares to MPD’s horrible apprehension rate of 38 percent for 2018’s 940 chases.

“During the year 2016 MPD deployed this technology 156 times, successfully attaching it to fleeing vehicles 112 times,” a past FPC report noted. 

The approach enables police to avoid high-speed chases that often are aggressive adrenaline-fueled contests between officers and a suspect that lose track of innocent bystanders in a dense urban setting.

Whereas the StarChase devices “give officers time to [let the adrenaline high pass], so by the time the pursuit is over, they can think more clearly and make better tactical decisions,” as MPD Inspector Terrence Gordon told Governing magazine in 2016. Yet since Chief Flynn retired, there has been no discussion of this technology.

 

So I ask you, why are the MFPC and MPD leadership ignoring their own past success with this technology?

Technology alone is not a panacea. An intelligent and measured pursuit policy must balance enforcement with the risk to innocent public and officers. That is not happening under current policy, as tragically both officers and numerous civilians have been and will continue to be killed and injured.

The city has exceeded its $5 million reserve for police settlements and must currently borrow to settle lawsuits. [https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2019/05/14/court-watch-city-will-borrow-for-police-settlement/].  This is after not properly considering or, more likely ignoring risk mitigation strategies (unless one counts the billboard campaign, which was a colossal waste of money).

No one pursuit-related solution will solve Milwaukee’s crime problems. Managing pursuits in the 21st century requires a mix of appropriate policies, extensive officer training and effective use of available tools.

 

I respectfully ask that MFPC explain to taxpayers why they ceased supporting a pursuit reduction program that was working. And as MFPC and MPD consider their mind boggling 940 pursuits, reconsider the fact that effective technology, combined with smarter pursuit driving policies, will help tip MPD’s currently abysmal pursuit statistics back in the direction of saving lives and reducing injuries and property damage.

It’s clear that the current pursuit policy is costing too many lives and emptying city coffers.

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Innocent Woman and her 5 dogs killed

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Another totally unnecessary #PoliceChase after a stolen vehicle takes the life of an innocent woman and her 5 dogs. Long Beach.

Stupid. Unnecessary. Heartbreaking. 

Long Beach Post

ORIGINAL STORY: https://lbpost.com/news/crime/dogs-killed-police-pursuit-temple-3rd/

Neighbors in Bluff Heights were aghast Tuesday morning when a driver who’d been fleeing from police crashed, killing a woman and five dogs in the car he hit.

The woman, 41-year-old Jessica Bingaman, died at the hospital after rescuers freed her from the mangled wreckage and rushed her to get medical attention, according to police. There were six dogs in the car, four of which died at the scene. Two were taken to a local animal hospital where one of them died, police said

Neighbors said the crash happened when a white van plowed into a dark car on Third Street near Temple Avenue around 11:30 a.m. The van broadsided the car at high speed.

A tire flew off the car and hit a nearby wall. Photo by Valerie Osier.

A tire flew off the car and hit a nearby wall. Photo by Valerie Osier.

“I saw the white van coming this way really fast. He was going at least 60 to 70 miles per hour,” Fabio Giannone said. “By the time I opened the door, he smashed into the car.”

The crash was so violent that a tire and axle from the car flew across the street and broke a concrete wall. Three parked vehicles—a minivan, a truck and a sedan—were also damaged in the crash.

Police identified the van’s driver as 43-year-old Los Angeles resident Javier Oliverez, who is a parolee and known gang member and was wanted on a warrant for robbery, Long Beach police spokeswoman Arantxa Chavarria said. 

After being taken to the hospital for minor injuries, Oliverez was booked on suspicion of evading a police officer, felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter. He is being held at the Long Beach Jail with no bail.

At least two people were hospitalized and several dogs were killed. Photo by Valerie Osier.

At least two people were hospitalized and several dogs were killed. Photo by Valerie Osier.

After first-responders tended to the injured drivers, locals watched as firefighters covered one of the dead dogs with a blanket. Another was briefly hanging out of the car’s mangled door.

Jordan Wood said crews used the Jaws of Life to cut Bingaman out of her car. Wood had calmed down one of the dogs who was still alive, drawing thanks from fire crews.

Mourners placed flowers, dog toys and candles at the site of the crash. Bingaman was a local dog walker. She had the dogs in her car as part of a daycare service she ran, police said.

A memorial is crowded with dog toys, treats, flowers and candles. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.

A memorial is crowded with dog toys, treats, flowers and candles. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.

Police said the chase started near Broadway and Alamitos Avenue where officers spotted the van, which had been reported stolen Monday.

The driver wouldn’t stop and officers followed, Long Beach police spokeswoman Shaunna Dandoy said.

Police will look into whether officers acted properly by chasing the van, Chavarria said. This review is typical for pursuits, she said.

A driver in a white van crashed into a car near Temple Avenue and Third Street as he was fleeing from police. Courtesy photo.

A driver in a white van crashed into a car near Temple Avenue and Third Street as he was fleeing from police. Courtesy photo.

When they chase someone, the LBPD mandates its officers and supervisors continually evaluate whether it’s worth the risk. Among other things, they have to consider traffic conditions, whether they’re in a residential neighborhood, the recklessness of the suspect and what he or she is wanted for.

“A police pursuit is a dangerous activity that should be engaged in with the utmost awareness of the risks to other drivers, bystanders, the officers, and the suspect(s),” the LBPD manual says. “The primary purpose of a motor vehicle pursuit is to arrest fleeing suspects with the minimum amount of force necessary and to minimize the risk of harm to people and property.”

In 2008, a passing driver was killed during a police pursuit just half a mile from the site of today’s crash.

In that case, an officer was pursuing a drunk driver who blew through stop signs and traffic signals at up to 100 mph around 2 a.m., police said at the time.

The chase ended when the suspect hit a car near Redondo Avenue and Fourth Street, killing 32-year-old Jason Allen Siebert, according to authorities.

Editor’s note: This story was updated shortly after 2:30 p.m. with the information that the woman died at the hospital. It was updated again Wednesday morning with the woman’s name.

Valerie Osier is a breaking news reporter for the Long Beach Post. Reach her at valerie@lbpost.com or on Twitter @ValerieOsier

Jeremiah Dobruck is the breaking news editor of the Long Beach Post. Reach him at jeremiah@lbpost.com or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.

 

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Two More Innocent Citizens Die – For A Stolen Car Police Chase

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This story plays out EVERY SINGLE DAY across the US. Police chasing stolen vehicles and ALWAYS endangering innocent bystanders. In this case, Maria and Rosemary had to die so policy could chase. When will this stupidity end?

 

ORIGINAL KSN.com STORY AND VIDEO HERE: https://www.ksn.com/news/local/woman-and-girl-killed-in-crash-involving-fleeing-vehicle-identified/1980972004

Woman and girl killed in crash involving fleeing vehicle identified

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Wichita police tell KSN that a 12-year-old girl and 70-year-old woman died after a multi-car crash in downtown Wichita. It happened just before 2 p.m. Sunday at Douglas and Broadway.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 2001 BMW with two people inside was fleeing from Wichita police on Broadway heading southbound.

At the intersection, the BMW struck a 1998 Toyota with three people inside on the drivers side. The Toyota spun out and struck another Chevy with one person.

The woman and girl who died in the crash are identified as 70-year-old Maria Wood and 12-year-old Rosemary McElroy. Both are from Wichita and were in the Toyota. Another woman, 36-year-old Jennifer Wood, was injured and transported to the hospital.

The two people in the BMW, 24-year-old Mia Collins and 38-year-old Christopher English, were transported to the hospital.

A driver of the Chevy, 65-year-old Alfred Angel, was also taken to the hospital.

Captain Jeff Weible says the two suspects accused of causing the crash are in the hospital.

The crash spawned from a car chase, when officers saw an alleged stolen vehicle at the 1000 block of North Broadway.

“As they were trying to turn around to follow the vehicle, the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed,” said Capt. Weible, Wichita Police Department.

Some people who work nearby said they keep replaying the scene in their mind. Legend Journey works inside a building right next to where the crash happened. She was emotional as she recalled what she saw.

“I just walked up to the window, and I saw her feet,” said Journey. “So, I ran away from the window. Just to know that it was right outside where I work and they wanted us to keep working.”

Police are still investigating. KSN hopes to learn more later todya.

“When we have an incident of this magnitude, we’re going to review it thoroughly to make sure we not only follow policy but state law,” said Capt. Weible.

While witnesses said they’re thinking of the families involved, they said they’re also trying to process what they saw.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” said Journey. “It kind of makes me angry because is stealing a car really worth two people’s lives?”

The areas from Topeka to Market on Douglas and from William to 1st Street on Broadway were shut down for several hours.

 

A follow-up story printed in the Wichita Eagle is here: https://www.kansas.com/news/local/crime/article230076459.html

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Seat Belt Violation Pursuit Injures Innocent Bystanders

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Police Chases For Misdemeanor Traffic Violations MUST STOP!

Independence Missouri is like way too many other jurisdictions. They allow officers virtually unlimited ability to engage in very dangerous, high speed police chases through city streets. And in cities like this, each and every day innocent citizens are injured and killed.

The answer is simple. STOP pursuing for misdemeanors and simple property crimes. Only pursue for violent felonies, and only then if no other safer options are available.
More training is necessary. Greater usage of technology tools is encouraged. And law enforcement MUST be held accountable for making poor decisions that injure or kill innocents.

Following is an excellent report by Cat Reid at television station KSHB 41. Go to their site and watch the video. Bad decisions abound, especially running at 80 MPH with a mud-streaked windshield. It is horrible that two innocent people were grievously injured, but tell me the pursuing officer could have seen a kid running into the street. It is actually amazing that no one was killed.



ORIGINAL STORY AND VIDEOS HERE:  https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/innocent-bystanders-injured-in-independence-police-chase-over-seat-belt-violation

Innocent bystanders injured in Independence police chase over seat belt violation

IPD policy allows pursuits for any crime
Posted: 11:00 AM, Apr 25, 2019
Updated: 5:29 AM, Apr 26, 2019

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — On a Saturday afternoon in January, Sherry Ross decided to drive her 91-year-old father to Mass.

“He was going, ‘you didn’t have to pick me up for church,’ and I said, ‘Dad, you don’t need to be driving when I can drive you,’” Ross said, remembering that day.

Just a few minutes later, Ross heard sirens near the intersection of Sterling Avenue and Blue Ridge Boulevard. Her father saw what was coming and tried to verbalize a warning.

“He yelled ‘watch,’ but he never got ‘out’ out,” Ross said.

The driver of a maroon pickup truck ran a red light and slammed into Ross’s small SUV, totaling it. Ross walked away with a broken sternum, while her dad suffered a broken sternum, eight broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Independence police chase-Sherry Ross

Contributed photo
Sherry Ross and her 91-year-old father were badly injured when the driver of a pickup truck ran a red light and slammed into their small SUV. The crash occurred during a high-speed chase that Independence police initiated over a minor traffic violation.

Later, Ross would learn what had happened that day was more than just a horrific crash.

“It was awful, but I think what was so frustrating then was knowing it was a chase,” Ross said.

An Independence police officer attempted a traffic stop on Jan. 26 near the intersection of 23rd Street and Harvard Avenue. The officer’s dashboard camera video shows the suspect took off down Harvard, a quiet neighborhood street.

When the driver hit a dead end on 25th Street, he quickly reversed toward Sterling Avenue. As the man, later identified as James W. Mathis, tried to turn around, his tires became stuck in a muddy lot. Eventually he was able to drive off, spewing mud across the officer’s windshield in the process.

It’s hard to see what happened next, since the windshield wipers on the patrol car smeared the mud, impairing visibility in the video. However, according to a police report, the chase continued down Sterling Avenue, with Mathis running two red lights and reaching speeds of 84 miles per hour.

The four-minute pursuit ended as he ran a third light, crashing into Ross’s car.

The chase that ended in the crash, injuring Ross and her father, was initiated over a traffic violation. The officer said Mathis wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

“I was livid,” Ross said about learning the reason for the pursuit.

Her niece, Angela Angotti, felt the same way.

“We have to count on the law enforcement professionals to be calm and to make good decisions,” Angotti said, “and to have a police chase over a seat belt violation just seems unnecessary. It’s an unnecessary risk.”

Independence pursuit policy

Both Independence and Kansas City, Kansas, police allow pursuits for any crime.

Sherry Ross and her father are not the first people injured as a result of those chases. Over a five-year period, Independence pursuits led to $1.1 million in payouts for property damage and lawsuit settlements.

In 2014, the KCK Police Department settled two lawsuits related to pursuits for $625,000.

Multiple requests for interviews with the chiefs of both departments went unanswered.

An IPD spokesman did respond to some questions via email,  emphasizing that the collateral damage of chases rests on the shoulders of suspects.

“It is the criminal who places the public at risk and puts themselves in danger for failing to lawfully comply with the vehicle stop,” Independence police spokesman John Syme said in the email. “Police officers are attempting to prevent crime and protect society.”

Syme declined to provide specifics on the pursuit involving Ross and her father, citing the potential for litigation in the case.

According to the Independence pursuit policy, “pursuits for traffic violations or for misdemeanors will be avoided or terminated if they pose unnecessary risk to life or property.”

 

When Syme sat down with 41 Action News in February 2018, he tried to explain why the department allows pursuits for such minor crimes.

“Oftentimes you’ll hear a pursuit immediately terminated if it’s just for traffic violations,” he said at the time. “But we also know that something that appears to be traffic at first, maybe just someone running a red light, could be indicative of something much more serious. Maybe they just committed a crime.”

That logic doesn’t hold up in the eyes of University of South Carolina professor Geoffrey Alpert, who has been studying high-risk police activities, including pursuits, for more than 30 years.

“You can’t justify a pursuit based on what you think or based on what you might know,” he said.

A model policy

Through his years of research, Alpert came to the conclusion that department’s policies have to draw a clear line in the sand.

“I think it’s important for management, the chief or the sheriff, to come in and say if you’re not chasing for a violent crime, then it’s not worth it,” he said.

Alpert points to the New Orleans Police Department’s policy as a model for other agencies. That policy allows for pursuits only when officers have “reasonable suspicion that a fleeing suspect has committed or has attempted to commit a crime of violence…and the escape of the subject would pose an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or to another person.”

In the policy, a crime of violence is defined as “a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or death.”

The NOPD policy prohibits pursuits for property and misdemeanor offenses and traffic or civil infractions.

Alpert argues such a policy is not only safer for the public, but also better for officers, who have mere seconds to make hard choices.

“It’s just not fair to the officers to force them to make all those decisions. I think management should do it from the boardroom,” he said.

Experts say another important attribute of any policy is the inclusion of an independent third party that can make the call on whether or not to pursue.

“As strange as it may sound, it sort of takes the heat off of the officer for that feeling of saying I just let somebody go. It wasn’t their decision,” said John Hamilton, an associate professor of criminal justice at Park University.

The IPD’s pursuit policy states that “the decision to initiate a vehicular pursuit rests with the individual officer.” However, a supervisor can terminate the chase at any time.

In 2018, 66 percent of initiated pursuits were terminated, with the majority of those decisions being made by the officers behind the wheel, according to IPD.

A call for change

It’s unclear why the department allowed the chase that injured Ross and her father to continue.

After the crash, officers determined James Mathis’s girlfriend and his 7-year-old son were in the backseat during the pursuit, according to the police report. Neither was wearing a seat belt during the chase, and Mathis was charged with endangerment of a child.

Independence police pursuit - Mathis car

Contributed photo
A pickup truck driven by James Mathis slammed into a small SUV following a police chase that reached speeds of 84 mph. Independence police initiated the pursuit over a seat belt violation.

Police said they found 0.2 grams of marijuana in the center console of the truck, as well as drug paraphernalia, including a glass pipe and scale. According to the police report, an officer also found 1.4 grams of meth and a pipe in Mathis’s jeans pocket.

Before the chase, his record only reflected two traffic warrants and a revoked license. Now he’s facing charges for fleeing and for the crash.

For Sherry Ross, the end doesn’t justify the means.

“Something’s got to change,” she said.

The family is determined to see that happen. Angotti is an attorney and knows that one way to fight the issue is in court.

But she doesn’t want to sue the city of Independence. Instead, she wants her family compensated and the pursuit policy changed.

“It would be nice if it didn’t have to go this way this time, and if we can do something and use this to help other people,” she said.

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Minnesota Police Chases Up 170 Percent since 2010

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An EXCELLENT investigative story by KSTP reporter Ryan Raiche

Summarizing how most police departments in Minnesota still leave highly dangerous pursuit decisions up to individual officers.

 

Changing how they chase: Most officers in Minnesota are forced to make judgment calls behind the wheel

February 18, 2019 10:20 PM

Police officers across Minnesota are forced to make a judgment call while behind the wheel on whether to engage in high-speed chases that could potentially jeopardize innocent lives.

Nearly 200 agencies leave those high-risk decisions up to officer discretion, according to a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS analysis of pursuit policies.

A national expert on police chases says those findings show departments are putting officers at a disadvantage by asking them to make risky decisions on the fly.

“You are putting that officer in a horrible position,” said Geoffrey Alpert, a professor at the University of South Carolina, who has studied police chases for 30 years. “How fair is that to the officer?”

Alpert says such policies put officers and the public at risk.

Since last summer, nine innocent people have been injured or killed in the Twin Cities in the middle of police chases or moments after they were terminated.

“The person who flees from police should be punished… but not at the cost of my family’s life,” Alpert said.

Banning Chases

Yet, high-speed chases are up 170 percent in Minnesota since 2010, according to the Department of Public Safety.



A previous 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS investigation last fall found the overwhelming majority of such chases start because of minor traffic violations like speeding or broken taillights.


A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS INVESTIGATION found officers have chased drivers at dangerous speeds for minor traffic violations such as a broken tail light or a petty crime like shoplifting. View the original report AND VIDEO here: Expert on High Speed Chases for Low Level Violations: ‘Let Them Go’


The review of pursuit policies show 27 departments – less than 15 percent – have banned chases over such violations. Those departments only allow officers to chase violent offenders suspected of committing crimes like armed robbery, assault or murder.

“We want to make things better, not worse,” said Chief Eric Gieseke with the Burnsville Police Department. His department banned chases nearly 30 years ago.

Gieseke says he wants his officers to ask themselves one question when making that decision: Is the chase worth dying for?

“Having a restrictive policy actually helps the officer because it gives them clear guidelines,” he said. “They’re not stuck in the middle of a very difficult decision making process during a rapidly evolving situation. It’s clear.”

In other departments, officers are expected to assess a variety of factors in a matter of seconds including traffic, weather, and the ability to arrest the suspect later.

“We want to make sure we’re not putting the public in harm’s way, unnecessarily,” Gieseke said. “We also want to protect the officers and give them the opportunity to go home safe at the end of the night.”

A recent national study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice suggests that restrictive pursuit policies, like the one in Burnsville, are becoming more common throughout the country. However, the data does not show how restrictive.

“I think you’re the first group that has really looked at a large number of policies and has determined what’s restrictive and what’s not,” said Alpert. “I would like to see this done in every state. I think the country needs to look at it. We need to know what our police are doing.”

‘Should have been called off a long time ago’

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS started analyzing police chases after a suspect chased by a state trooper for driving over the speed limit crashed into a Minneapolis playground. Three children were seriously injured in the crash.

Dash-camera video later released by the state patrol showed the trooper regretted that chase.

“Should have been called off a long time ago,” he said in the recording.

The agency is now reviewing its policy. However, when asked in December whether that chase was reasonable, Col. Matt Langer defended the troopers’ decisions.

“Our pursuit policy affords troopers the discretion in making those decisions and they’re trained on both the skill of driving fast and the decision making required,” Langer said. “Ultimately, it’s a subjective test.”

Gieseke, the police chief in Burnsville, says changing such policies is not always a popular decision.

“It wasn’t well received by a lot of officers, quite frankly,” Gieseke said. “There was a perception that everybody would come to Burnsville to commit crimes or all the bad men and women would get away, but that hasn’t been the case. The data doesn’t support that.”

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More About Milwaukee’s Dangerous Pursuit Policies

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More About Milwaukee’s Dangerous Pursuit Policies

More and more people are recognizing the highly political nature of Milwaukee’s “pursue for any reason until the wheels fall off” police chase changes. Officers are dying. Innocent citizens are dying. Fleeing vehicles are screaming down Milwaukee’s densely populated neighborhoods at 75 miles per hour and faster – putting EVERYONE at risk. And in 2018, MPD was doing this THREE TIMES EVERY SINGLE DAY.

This is insanity. This is not working. This is killing people. And this needs to stop.

If it takes replacing Aldermen and members of the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, then I encourage Milwaukee voters to do something about it.

Do it before some you love is killed unnecessarily.

Thanks to Urban Milwaukee reporter Bruce Murphy for reaching out to me and for writing this thoughtful article about Milwaukee’s out of control police pursuits.

 

ORIGINAL STORY AT: https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2019/04/25/murphys-law-are-police-pursuits-out-of-control/

MURPHY’S LAW
Bruce Murphy

Are Police Pursuits Out of Control?

Massive increase in high-speed chases under the new policy. Results are scary.

By  – Apr 25th, 2019 11:38 am

Last week Saturday another person was killed after high-speed police chase. A Fox 6 report included a cell phone video of the police car barreling down a city street and covered the resulting carnage that occurred.

This was in response to what police believed was “drug dealing” with no further information offered. The police did not say the person chased was suspected of committing any violence, which would be consistent with most such chases in America, which are in response to non-violent offenses, typically traffic violations. 

The 27-year-old man being chased sped through a stop sign, crashing into another vehicle and then careening into a home, where his car burst into flames and ignited the house. “The vehicle sheered the gas main to the house, creating a very dangerous situation inside the house,” said Battalion Chief Erich Roden, Milwaukee Fire Department.

The man being chased was killed and the driver he hit was injured. “Jazzmine Salaam says the speeding vehicle smashed into her cousin driving an SUV at the intersection of 13th and Capitol. She was taken to the hospital with minor injuries,” as Fox 6 reported. 

David Miller, the homeowner, might have been killed but wasn’t at home at the time. He described the explosion to Channel 12, saying it “busted all my windows, everything melted… the TV melted. I lost about 20 good guitars.”  

Miller is “still in shock,” says his brother and his home, which was uninsured, is almost completely destroyed. The brother has just launched a crowd funding campaign to pay for a new home.

All told that’s one person killed, one injured and one in shock with an incinerated home, all to capture one guy who may have been involved in a drug deal. That’s how Milwaukee’s police pursuit policy works these days. 

Last year, Milwaukee police engaged in 940 chases, nearly triple the number in 2017, and well more than the total number of pursuits for the seven year period from 2008 through 2014, when there were 858 pursuits. These numbers come from a new report by the Fire and Police Commission (FPC).

Slightly more than half of the pursuits in 2018 — 491 — hit a speed of more than 75 miles per hour, and most were on city streets. The percent of police chases that exceeded 75 miles per hour has risen from just 10 percent in 2012 to 52 percent last year, the report found. 

About 18 percent of the chases terminated in a car crash and 25 percent caused a car accident. Thirteen officers were injured during the pursuits, one fatally, 112 people being chased were injured, five of whom died and 38 bystanders were injured. 

Yet only 21 percent of the pursuits involved a violent felony. Most — nearly 70 percent — involved a traffic violation or reckless vehicle.

And the vast majority of pursuits didn’t catch the subject: Just 38 percent of the pursuits resulted in apprehensions. 

The skyrocketing increase in pursuits is the direct result of a new policy pushed for in 2017 by Milwaukee Common Council members. A letter from 13 of 15 council members noted a rise in killings by hit-and-run drivers, and also claimed that speeding, red light-running and reckless driving were occurring at record levels.

Then-Police Chief Edward A. Flynn opposed any change in the pursuit policy. 

He had already strengthened the pursuit policy in 2015, which allowed police to chase if either the vehicle or occupants had been involved in a felony or attempted felony, or if the vehicle or occupant(s) presents a clear and immediate threat to the safety of others,” which appeared to target reckless driving. 

The result was a significant increase in pursuits, to 263 in 2015 and 306 in 2016 — more pursuits than in any year since 2002. But the council wanted still more pursuits and so the Fire and Police Commission ordered a stronger policy.  

A new policy created in September 2017 added language allowing a chase if “the occupant(s) of the vehicle are engaged in drug dealing” and if “the necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the level of danger created by the vehicle pursuit, as in the case of the vehicle engaging in reckless driving.” 

The resulting massive increase in pursuits doesn’t seem to have done much about the hit-and-runs and speeding cited by council members: in 2018 crashes caused by speeding were up by 32 percent and crashes caused by hit-and-run drivers rose 17 percent, the latest police report shows.

Flynn’s successor, Police Chief Alfonso Morales, said the increased pursuits have led to a drop in vehicle theft, carjackings and violent crime. “Is it dangerous? Absolutely it is,” as Morales described the pursuits to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But we’re always looking for an alternative way to make it safer.”

Actually the department had an alternative. Under Flynn it had adopted new technology developed by a private company called Star Chase, whereby police shoot at GPS “bullet” about the size of a soup can that can stick to a fleeing car. A 2014 report found it is effective in 55 percent of cases, meaning it sticks to a car and an arrest is later made. That compares to the apprehension rate of 38 percent for last year’s 940 chases.

“During the year 2016 MPD deployed this technology 156 times, successfully attaching it to fleeing vehicles 112 times,” a past FPC report noted. 

The approach enables police to avoid high-speed chases that often are aggressive adrenaline-fueled contests between officers and a suspect that lose track of innocent bystanders in a dense urban setting. “Studies show they almost go into pure tunnel vision when they begin a pursuit. The adrenaline kicks in,” said Jonathan Farris, a pursuit-safety advocate who lives in Madison, WI, in a story by McClatchey.

Whereas the Star Chase devices “give officers time to [let the adrenaline high pass], so by the time the pursuit is over, they can think more clearly and make better tactical decisions,” as MPD Inspector Terrence Gordon told Governing magazine in 2016. Yet since Flynn left, there has been no discussion of this technology.

A model policy by the International Association of Chiefs of Police recommends pursuits “only if the officer has a reasonable belief that the suspect, if allowed to flee, would present a danger to human life or cause serious injury. In general, pursuits for minor violations are discouraged.”

Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, whose board of directors consists of police chiefs, told McClatchey there is no evidence that restrictions on pursuits lead to increases in crime and lawlessness. His organization advocates for sharp restrictions on pursuits.

“There are too many cases of people dying needlessly – tragedies that trump whatever the other arguments there are about people perceiving this as getting away with infractions,” Wexler said. “We’re talking about saving lives here.”

Farris, who heads Pursuit for Change, a Wisconsin-based advocacy group for victims of police pursuits, spoke to the Milwaukee’s Fire and Police Commission in 2017 to urge it not to push for more pursuits. He has since written letters to the commission urging a reconsideration of the policy, with no response. His impression was that the FPC, though it is supposed to be an independent agency, was simply doing the Common Council’s bidding. 

Farris became an advocate after his son was killed in 2007 during a police pursuit in Massachusetts. “My son and his girlfriend were riding in a taxi which was t-boned by an SUV pursued by the police for an illegal U-turn,” he recalled in an interview with Urban Milwaukee. “My son and the taxi driver were killed and the girl spent years in rehabilitation.” 

Farris believes Milwaukee will eventually be forced to change its policy. “They’ve already killed multiple innocent people. There are going to be more people killed and that’s what’s going to inevitably change the policy. Or there will be a humongous lawsuit against the city.”  

Meanwhile keeps your eyes peeled for high speed chases. On average there were nearly three such pursuits per day last year.

If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits, all detailed here.

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Milwaukee sees big uptick in police chases

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THIS is NOT success. THIS is FAILURE. Milwaukee #PoliceChase statistics from 2018:

  • 165 individuals in the chased vehicle were injured
  • 22 police employees were injured
  • 38 pursuits ended with an injury to a third party

Milwaukee sees big uptick in police chases after policy changed in 2017

MILWAUKEE — In 2018, the Milwaukee Police Department averaged 18 police chases every week, a big increase from 2017. A new report breaks down what happened after the city changed its pursuit policy. The report looks at how the numbers changed over the last decade, and it’s clear the policy change allowing police officers to pursue reckless drivers had an impact.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission met Thursday, April 18, to discuss the report.

Beginning in September 2017, Milwaukee police officers were allowed to pursue cars engaged in reckless driving or believed to be engaged in drug dealing.

“We have go to have the ability to go after individuals who are wreaking havoc on our streets,” Alderman Bob Donovan said.

Alderman Donovan supported the change, as did Alderman Russel Stamper.

“I was expecting we’d have a safer community and that we’d hold those people that are driving recklessly accountable,” said Alderman Stamper.

Along with the increase in pursuits came an increase in pursuits that ended in a crash — once again, a sharp spike for 2018.

Below are statistics from 2018:

  • 165 individuals in the chased vehicle were injured
  • 22 police employees were injured
  • 38 pursuits ended with an injury to a third party

“I will speak with the chief and ask him, ‘Is this still the best route to go?’ I think so, but we may have to do some tweaking,” Stamper said.

While Stamper said he wants to evaluate the decision, Donovan’s opinion on the policy hasn’t wavered.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the important thing is that the numbers are being tracked closely. “I think that’s the important thing that there’s always a balance between high-speed chases and public safety,” Mayor Barrett said.

The report breaks down a lot of different numbers, including when and where these police chases are happening, and also, what happens with those pursuits that don’t end in a crash. Less than 38 percent of pursuits end with the subject being taken into custody.

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Milwaukee Police Chase Policy Continues To Raise Questions After Deadly Crashes This Month

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More pursuits. More deaths. More injuries. More sorrow. More politics.
Milwaukee (MPD & MFPC & Milwaukee City Council) continues down a dangerous and unsustainable path.

Thanks to reporter Corri Hess for reaching out to us.

Milwaukee Police Chase Policy Continues To Raise Questions After Deadly Crashes This Month

Report Shows Nearly 155 Percent Chase Increase Since 2017 Policy Change

Published: Monday, April 22, 2019, 4:00pm

Photo by Gretchen Brown, WPR

Two high-speed police chases in Milwaukee since April 11 have left two people dead and at least six others injured.

The deadly chases happened the same month a new study was released showing a nearly 155 percent increase in police chases since the Milwaukee Police Department changed its policy in 2017 to allow officers to pursue reckless vehicles.

On Saturday afternoon a 27-year-old man died after a police chase. Milwaukee police were investigating a drug complaint when the driver involved in the suspected matter refused to stop, said city Police Inspector Jutiki Jackson.

The driver, who has not been identified, reportedly flew through a stop sign at North 13th Street and West Capitol Drive at a high rate of speed. After crashing into an SUV, the driver crashed into a vacant house and the car burst into flames, Jackson said in a press release. The house also started on fire.

The driver of the SUV was treated for minor injuries. The suspect did not survive.

In a separate incident, an 18-year-old man died Monday afternoon, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, after the man, who has not been identified, was involved in a police chase Thursday. The chase began after a triple shooting. Six others were injured.

Milwaukee Police Officer Charles Irvine Jr, 23, died in June while he and another officer were pursuing a suspect. The squad car crashed as they chased the suspect on the city’s northwest side.

The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission voted unanimously in September 2017 to expand the police department’s chase policy to reckless drivers and drug dealers. The change was something former Police Chief Edward Flynn disagreed with, saying at the time, it would endanger more people.

Flynn limited the department’s chase policy in 2010 to officers only being allowed to chase drivers suspected of committing a violent felony after four people were killed in one month.

Jackson did not respond to Wisconsin Public Radio’s request for comment by deadline. He told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the police department has no plans to change the police pursuit policy.

“We have individuals who are committing major felonies in the city, violent felonies in the city,” Jackson told the Journal Sentinel. “They’re drug dealing, and they’re destroying neighborhoods. So when they take off from officers, we’re going to pursue.”

Milwaukee Alderman Robert Bauman said each chase has its own set of individual circumstances. The best answer is for trained police officers to exercise professional judgment when pursing a chase, he said.

Bauman said increased vehicle crashes were a possibility when the city changed its vehicle pursuit policy, but it had to be done.

“We were getting to the point where there was no accountability for some of the really bad driving that was going around and the bad guys knew it,” Bauman said.

There were 940 police chases in 2018, up from 369 in 2017, according to the study presented Thursday to the city Fire and Police Commission. Twenty-five percent of the chases last year resulted in a traffic accident.

During almost 500 of the chases, the police vehicles were being driven more than 75 mph, according to the report.

About 67 percent of the chases were for reckless vehicles; 21 percent were for violent felonies; and 3 percent were drug related, according to the report.

Jonathan Farris, who heads Pursuit for Change, a Wisconsin-based national police pursuit victims’ advocacy group, believes if Milwaukee doesn’t change its policy, there will be more deaths.

“It just doesn’t make sense to have an officer-decided pursuit policy in a city of the density of Milwaukee,” Farris said. “You see from reports the types of things they are pursing. The vast majority of them are reckless behavior. Well, that’s a pretty tough one to define.”

Farris’ son, Paul Farris, was killed on Memorial Day weekend in 2007 when a fleeing driver being chased by a Massachusetts State Trooper struck the cab Paul and his girlfriend were riding in.

Paul and the cab driver were killed. Paul’s girlfriend was critically injured but survived.

“Their whole policy has set them back 20 years,” Farris said regarding the Milwaukee Police Department. “They’ve lost a police officer, they’ve lost citizens. Ultimately, more innocent citizens are going to die. There is a really good chance more of their police officers are going to die and there is no need for that.”

adminMilwaukee Police Chase Policy Continues To Raise Questions After Deadly Crashes This Month
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Until the wheels fall off

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We are reading about more and more cities pursuing insane numbers of vehicles, the majority of which were for misdemeanors and property crimes.

The stats in this story are telling – it’s a horrible result and a horrible attitude. More innocents WILL DIE.

Until the wheels fall off: St. Ann is proud of its rep for police chases, but there are costs.

 

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Milwaukee Police Pursuit Policies Continue To Endanger And Kill

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Milwaukee continues to ignore the fact that they are endangering citizens every single day. How many more will die before they fix their pursuit policies?

 

Man dead after police chase ends in crash, fire near 13th and Capitol

MILWAUKEE — A 27-year-old man is dead after a Milwaukee police pursuit, that stemmed from a drug complaint, led to a fatal crash near 13th and Capitol on Saturday, April 20.

Home surveillance reveals the moments the speeding vehicle led police on the chase.

“The vehicle burst into flames and ignited the house,” said Milwaukee Police Inspector Jutiki Jackson.

Firefighters rushed to the scene. Vehicle into house near 13th and Capitol in Milwaukee

“The vehicle sheered the gas main to the house, creating a very dangerous situation inside the house,” said Battalion Chief Erich Roden, Milwaukee Police Department.

Police say the chase began as a drug complaint investigation near 40th and Auer.

Officers observed a vehicle that they believed to be involved in a drug dealing complaint and attempted to stop it,” Jackson said.

Jazzmine Salaam says the speeding vehicle smashed into her cousin driving an SUV at the intersection of 13th and Capitol. She was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

“She called and said she was in a car accident. I came as fast as I could,” Salaam said.

Salaam says her cousin was running errands when a car came out of nowhere.

“She was just going to Walgreens, going to get medicine and got hit,” Salaam said.

A chase ending in crash and chaotic scene. A sight some hope to never see again.

“Everybody should slow down so we can enjoy our summer because it doesn’t last long,” Salaam said.

The driver of the fleeing vehicle was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

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PursuitAlert – Another Great Technology Tool

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PursuitAlert – Another Great Technology Tool

I’m very pleased to announce the first FORMAL rollout of PursuitAlert – terrific safety technology from my friends Tim & Trish Morgan.
Learn more about their company here. https://www.pursuitalert.com/our-story

Here is the story about their first live rollout with Oconee County Sheriff’s Department. Awesome!
Videos are at the WSPA 7 News site linked below.

 

 

Police chase warning app launches in Oconee County

January 15, 2019
https://www.wspa.com/news/police-chase-warning-app-launches-in-oconee-co/1703590352

Oconee County Sheriffs Office is rolling out new technology to alert the public to high speed chases in their area. The way this technology works is when a high speed chase is happening in a 2 mile radius the public will be alerted.

The catch is that the citizen must have this free app PursuitAlert. It’s a project that’s been in the works for nearly two years.

The way it works is when a chase starts the deputy can hit a button on the device in their car and the alert goes out. Sheriff Mike Crenshaw says this isn’t just a benefit for the public but also the safety of their deputies and furthering investigations. The technology will allow them to track their speeds and routes while pursuing a suspect.

The sheriff says the cost for everything comes from the sheriff’s office and all the residents need to do to make this work is download the app. He even encourages parents who have kids at Clemson to download it too.

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