POLICE PURSUITS

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POLICE PURSUITS

• Policies and Practice

Colorado State Patrol Lieutenant Colonel Anthony
Padilla
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POLICE PURSUITS

• Police pursuits are one of the most perilous
  encounters a law enforcement officer can
  experience.
• Pursuits present a significant risk to the safety
  of law enforcement officers and the safety of the
  public.

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POLICE PURSUITS

• Surprisingly, 71 percent of the public and almost
  91 percent of police officers nonetheless agree
  that pursuit is a necessary tool in crime
  fighting.
• Robert Osborne, Pursuit Management Task Force
  Report
• However, the end does not always justify the
  means

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POLICE PURSUITS

• Approximately 12 of pursuits end in a crash
  involving an injury or death.
• Nearly one-third of pursuits end in a crash.
• Over 99 of all pursuits end without a police
  involved crash.

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POLICE PURSUITS

• INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE
• Development of model policy to which agencies may
  refer during policy development or against which
  they may compare existing guidelines.

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Police Pursuit v. Legal Liability

• U.S. Constitution Amendment IV
• Statutory Law 42 USC Section 1983
• Court Decisions
• Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982), U.S. Supreme Court
• Galas v. McKee (1986), Federal 6th Court of
  Appeals
• Brower v. County of Inyo (1989), U.S. Supreme
  Court
• Saucier v. Katz (2001), U.S. Supreme Court
• Scott v. Harris (2007), U.S. Supreme Court

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P.U.R.S.U.E VIDEO

• Intended to increase officer awareness about the
  identification of factors involved in pursuit
  decision making, in order to provide officers
  with guidance.

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P.U.R.S.U.E.

• High Risk Low Frequency Situations
• Basic Training
• Continuous Skills Training
• Equipment Preparation and Maintenance
• Laws and Standards
• Agency Pursuit Policy ? IACP Model

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P.U.R.S.U.E

• Mental Changes During Stressful Encounters
• Physical Changes During Stressful Encounters
• Perception
• Interpretation
• Reaction
• Replace Automatic Responses with Trained
  Responses

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P.U.R.S.U.E.

• Decision to Initiate
• Evaluate the Factors
• Agency Policy
• Nature of Violation
• Violator Identity
• Environment
• Pressure/Desire
• Decision to Pursue or Terminate
• Assess Risk

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P.U.R.S.U.E.

• Decision to Terminate
• Public Safety
• Officer Safety
• Continuous Evaluation
• Supervision
• Termination Depends Upon Good Decision Making

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P.U.R.S.U.E.

• Utilize All Available Options to Include
• Law and Policy
• Other Agencies
• Aircraft
• Tire Deflation Devices
• Tactical Vehicle Intervention

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P.U.R.S.U.E.

• Examine the Incident
• Pursuit Debrief
• Training Tool
• Advance Policy and Training

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POLICE PURSUITS
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POLICE PURSUITS

• Questions?