A driving session, unlike regular firearms training, poses
huge staffing demands because it's more of a one-on-one
exercise, Reynolds said. He said the department has applied
for a $1 million grant for driving simulators that could
improve driver training while saving time.
Many departments offer pursuit training in their police
academies but no follow-up classes, says a national police
precision-driving expert, Capt. Travis Yates.
Yates, a 15-year veteran with the Tulsa Police
Department, said that lapse leaves officers frustrated by
armchair quarterbacking when pursuits go wrong.
"I would hope that progressive police departments do not
wait for a Supreme Court case or a tragedy to do what's
right," Yates told The Times. "What is right is a clear,
sound policy and mandatory training."
Speeds in some chases demand abilities few cadets can
bring to academy classes. The maximum speed in a Huntsville
police chase in the last five years was 130 mph, and the
average was just over 70 mph from 2003 to 2006.
Yates said driving is viewed as an everyday skill, unlike
firearms and arrest procedures, which are specific to the
profession. "By far the most dangerous thing we do in law
enforcement is the things we do inside the vehicle.
"In 2007, 49 percent of officer deaths were
vehicle-related. Vehicle-related incidents have been the
highest form of litigation," he said.
The training should include lessons that can help
officers make good split-second decisions on whether to
begin a chase, he said.
After an initial course on emergency driving at the
police academy, the Huntsville Police Department conducts
driver retraining every three or four years. The academy
session is a one-week course to help the officer better
understand a patrol car's capabilities and learn safe
driving through intersections.
Supervisors also scrutinize the driving record and
incident files of each officer to look for patterns. Police
Chief Henry Reyes said the reviews reveal behavior patterns
that suggest the need for intervention.
