Local police forces enter debate on vehicle pursuits

'We're very careful'

"We're very careful that we conduct these pursuits as safely and prudently as possible," Dormer said recently. "Unfortunately, at times, something bad happens. But I can tell you from my experience over the last four years, and 30 years in the police business -- it's caused by the bad guy."

Of the 190 pursuits in 2007, 67 percent started as vehicle and traffic offenses. That includes everything from speeding through a red light to driving while intoxicated. There were 170 pursuits in 2006.

Twenty-seven percent of all chases resulted in an accident last year. That's lower than the national average, which experts project at 30 to 40 percent. As of May 1 of this year, the percentage of chases involving a crash had increased to 31 percent. However, if the total number of pursuits holds steady through December, they could decrease to 135 this year.

Across the country, researchers said more departments have begun adopting written policies detailing when to engage in a pursuit. The most highly restrictive of those allow pursuits only when the suspect may have committed a violent crime.

"The simple reason is this: The most dangerous thing that law enforcement does today in America are police pursuits," said Capt. Travis Yates, who runs a police driving and training program in Oklahoma "There is not another activity that a law enforcement officer does where the officer and the entire community is at risk."

David Falcone, a professor of criminal justice sciences at Illinois State University who has studied pursuits, reviewed Nassau and Suffolk's policies for Newsday. He characterized each as "midrange restrictive." Both departments have written procedures and instructions on when to justify a chase -- but they do not limit pursuits to only violent crimes.

Nassau officers are instructed to pursue when they reasonably suspect the person has committed a serious crime, or their driving or other actions are endangering someone's life.

Nassau police could provide data for only half of last year and a portion of this year. As of June 25, there had been 68 pursuits. Last year, there were at least 16 crashes involving a pursuit, compared to 31 in 2006.

In Suffolk, police officers are given four reasons to initiate a pursuit: the driver avoids arrest; presents a "clear and immediate" threat to motorists; has or is trying to commit a violent felony; or commits a lesser offense but the necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the risks of a pursuit.

3 Deaths since 2006

Since December 2006, police chases in Suffolk have resulted in three deaths in which the victims were not part of the pursuit. William Calhoun, 59, of Farmingdale, was killed when a suspected drug dealer fleeing police crashed into his living room. Gabriel Bergianti, 27, of Port Jefferson Station, died when his vehicle collided with a police car chasing after a reckless motorcyclist.

And Scott Foster, 46, of Manorville, died after a parolee wanted for stealing landscaping tools led an officer on a 3/4-mile chase that ended when the suspect's car ran a red light and crashed into Foster's car, police said.

Suffolk police's review of each of those fatal pursuits determined that the officers acted within the department guidelines, Dormer said.

Nationally, the number of fatalities involving police pursuits has fluctuated, though 336 people were killed in 2006 -- the most since at least 2000. Forty percent of all pursuits are said to end in a crash, though one leading researcher said that number is probably closer to about 30 percent.

Geoffrey P. Alpert, a professor at the University of South Carolina, said creating restrictive policies has led to fewer crashes, injuries and deaths. Data from a 1997 study he conducted for the National Institute of Justice found that when the Miami-Dade police in Florida changed to a more restrictive policy, for example, the number of pursuits dropped from 279 to 51.

That department's policy states that officers may engage in pursuits when there is a reasonable belief the person fleeing attempted to commit a violent felony.

"All other pursuits are prohibited," the policy directs.

Alpert and Falcone said research finds that many myths regarding pursuits -- such as maybe there's a body in the trunk or that the suspect is fleeing because he's wanted for a serious crime -- are unfounded.

"Most people who run are just making a really stupid decision," Alpert said recently.

Yates, of the Tulsa, Okla., Police Department, said officers must be given clear directions on when to stop a pursuit, rather than a blanket statement instructing them to stop when it becomes too dangerous, as one person's opinion of 'dangerous' could be different from another's.

More technology urged

In his columns on the popular police Web site Policeone.com Yates has also urged departments to use technology.

"Think about this," Yates said. "Nationally, we say about one-third of our police pursuits conclude in a collision. You tell me another law enforcement activity where one-third of the time it goes bad and they continue to do it."

Suffolk police last year considered acquiring a technology that would allow them to shoot a GPS device onto fleeing vehicles. They could then locate the suspect under less dangerous circumstances. But Dormer said it would require police to get very close to a suspect's vehicle and that the department scratched the plan when it decided that it was not practical.

At least one of the three civilian deaths has resulted in litigation. The family of William Calhoun is suing both Suffolk and Nassau police departments. The suit is pending.

The family's attorney, Bob Sullivan, said he doesn't fault Suffolk's policy, but rather how it is followed by the officers.

"If they followed their own policy," Sullivan said, "this never happens."

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