Vehicle Pursuit Policy PDF

**VEHICLE PURSUIT POLICY** **PD97-0113** **I. Purpose:** The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to officers that engage in motor vehicle pursuits while attempting to stop or apprehend traffic-law violators who flee and other known or suspected violators of the law. **II. Policy:**...

**VEHICLE PURSUIT POLICY** **PD97-0113** **I. Purpose:** The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines to officers that engage in motor vehicle pursuits while attempting to stop or apprehend traffic-law violators who flee and other known or suspected violators of the law. **II. Policy:** This agency recognizes that known and suspected violators of the law will occasionally attempt to escape apprehension or the lawful enforcement of the law by members of our department.  In their zeal to elude capture and/or sanctions of the law, known or suspected violators of the law have been known to flee from officers while attempting to stop such violators by the use of properly marked police vehicles that are making full use of all available emergency equipment.  Such unlawful flight is demonstrated by the use of excessive speed by the violator and other erratic driving behaviors that can expose innocent members of our community to jeopardy, harm and/or loss of life. The need to bring the known or suspected law violator to justice must always be balanced against the potential jeopardy to  citizenry imposed by a police pursuit.  The procedures that follow provide guidelines to insure that police pursuits are undertaken with the greatest care and concern. **III. Definition:** A "pursuit" shall be defined as a sustained chase of a known or suspected law violator that doesn't necessarily occur at high-speeds.  This policy acknowledges that, for the purpose of this definition, both the police unit providing chase and the suspected law violator are in motorized vehicles. **IV. Procedures:** **A. **Pursuit driving is permitted: **1.** For the on-sight pursuit of a known or suspected felon; **2.** For the on-sight pursuit of traffic or miscellaneous violators; or **3. **When ordered to do so by a police supervisor or Communications Department personnel in order to assist another police pursuit vehicle. **4.** All officers having mobile video cameras installed in their vehicles will turn on the video and sound functions and will record any pursuit in which they are an active participant. **B.** Any police vehicle taking up pursuit driving shall immediately notify the Communications Department and follow with, if possible: **1.** Police vehicle unit identification; **2.** Location and direction of travel; **3.** Reason for pursuit; **4. **Description of pursued vehicle, occupants, license number if observable, etc.; and **5.** Communications will advise other police units of the pursuit on all channels. **C.** Under police pursuit conditions, the emergency lights (red and blue lights) and siren must be operating.  All possible precautions shall be taken by the police vehicle(s) engaged in such pursuit to insure the safety of the public and other officers. **1. **When a pursuit enters a residential area, involved officers will not follow a pursued vehicle off the roadway or alley (i.e. between residential structures or  across lawns).  Driving through residential property is permissible only when pursuing a known dangerous and violent felon whose escape would pose a substantial riskto the public.  This restriction does not apply to vacant lots or   undeveloped areas. **D. **Assisting Units **1.** At no time shall more than two (2) police vehicles be in actual pursuit of another vehicle unless ordered by the field supervisor monitoring the progress of the pursuit. **a. **A field supervisor should increase the number of pursuing vehicles if facts are known that the perpetrator(s) are armed and/or dangerous. Considerations for adding additional vehicles to a pursuit should include the  need for specialized personnel (i.e., K-9 units, patrol rifle officers etc.). **2.** The second police vehicle, if any, shall maintain a safe distance from the initial pursuit vehicle and will be responsible for keeping Communications advised of information relating to the pursuit. **3.** At no time will any additional assisting units convoy behind the pursued vehicle.  Other police units relatively close by may move in to the general area of the pursuit using normal emergency limitations, but such units will not engage in pursuit driving until ordered to do so. **E.** Supervisor's Responsibility **1.** A supervisor from the Division initiating the pursuit shall, via radio communication, advise communications that they are monitoring the pursuit.  If no sergeant is assigned to the Division, another sergeant on that radio channel will be expected to advise communications of the same. **a. **In the event that a pursuit occurs and no supervisor identifies himself/herself in a reasonable amount of time, a supervisor of higher rank shall notify communications that they are monitoring the pursuit. **2.** The field supervisor shall begin monitoring the pursuit's progress based upon information provided by the pursuing officer(s). **3.** The field supervisor will evaluate the continuing progress of the pursuit based upon his/her knowledge of the following: **a.** Existing weather conditions; **b. **existing road conditions in the area of the pursuit; **c. **prevalent pedestrian traffic along the route of the pursuit for the particular time of day; **d.** prevalent vehicular traffic along the route of the pursuit for the particular time of the day; and **e.** any other radio communication indicating that the level of jeopardy has escalated. **4. **A police pursuit may be terminated without apprehension under the following conditions: **a. **By the pursuing officer(s) based upon the factors described above; or **b. **by a field supervisor as described above. **F. **Termination of Pursuit without Apprehension **1. **Upon the termination of a pursuit, the pursuing officer(s) will immediately shut down all emergency equipment and turn off at the first available opportunity.  If that is not practical, they should immediately pull over to the side of the road and park. Under no circumstances should the officer(s) continue to follow the target vehicle. **2. **The officer(s) will then immediately notify dispatch of their new direction of travel, or where they've stopped and ask for a time check. **G. **Termination of Pursuit with Apprehension **1. **When feasible and practical "felony stop" techniques should be utilized to take suspects into custody. **2.** The primary and secondary pursuing officers shall disengage from any suspect contact as soon as adequate personnel arrive to safely assume control and custody of the suspect(s) and secure the scene. **a. **The primary and secondary pursuing officers shall not make a prisoner transport resulting from the vehicle pursuit.  Exceptions can be made upon the direction of a supervisor or when circumstances make it impractical to wait for another squad to arrive.  Such exceptions will be documented in the   transporting officer's narrative report. **3. **The field supervisor shall make the scene at the termination point and assume responsibility for police actions relating to the pursuit. **4.** Upon termination of the pursuit, where an apprehension has been made, the field supervisor shall advise all unnecessary units to return to service. **H. **Unmarked Police Vehicles **1.** An unmarked police vehicle may initiate a pursuit provided the police vehicle possesses at least a flashing red/blue light and siren. **2.** A pursuit by an unmarked police vehicle will be discontinued immediately when a properly marked police vehicle is able to take up the pursuit. **a. **Pursuits by unmarked police vehicles should be undertaken only in situations involving extreme jeopardy. **I. **Intrajurisdictional Pursuits **1. **Upon being notified of a pursuit initiated within our jurisdictional boundaries, but by officers of a different agency, all due assistance shall be rendered to such officers. **a. **All other policies and procedures described in this section shall apply to Fort Wayne Police Department personnel. **2. **The field supervisor monitoring the pursuit involvement by our personnel may direct one (1) unit to initiate pursuit driving tactics to provide direct and immediate assistance to the officers who communicated their pursuit to our Communications Department. **3.** All other Fort Wayne units in the area of the intrajurisdictional pursuit will not initiate pursuit driving skills unless so directed by a field supervisor. **J.** Interjurisdictional Pursuits **1. **When personnel from our agency initiate a pursuit that appears to be enroute outside the city limits of Fort Wayne, Indiana, either the pursuing officer(s) and/or the monitoring field supervisor shall convey this fact to the Communications Department. **2. **If no decision has been made to terminate the pursuit, Communications will be ordered to notify the Allen County Police Department, the Indiana State Police, and the New Haven Police Department (if the pursuit appears to be headed toward their jurisdiction) for any assistance such agencies may provide. **3.** Based upon the response from these agencies, the monitoring field supervisor shall specify the number of additional Fort Wayne police units that may leave the city limits to assist in the pursuit. **4.** Should the pursuit be anticipated to cross the county or the state boundary, the Communications Department shall be ordered to notify the appropriate law enforcement agency to alert them of the impending pursuit and request any assistance such agency may be able to render. **5. **When an interjurisdictional pursuit has been concluded either by termination or apprehension, the field supervisor responsible for monitoring the activities of our agency personnel shall make the scene of the termination point and assume responsibility for the police actions of our officers. **6.** The field supervisor shall also assure that all agencies assisting are properly identified and cooperative arrangements are established so prosecution of the violator may be initiated by all effected jurisdictions. **K. **Forcible Stopping of Suspect Vehicle **1.** Vehicle pursuits are inherently dangerous irregardless of the evaluation factors provided earlier.  To minimize the danger to officers of this agency, other assisting officers, and innocent citizens and to minimize potential property damage, under no circumstances are officers of this agency authorized to intentionally ram or to intentionally make contact with the vehicle that is being pursued. **2. **The forcible stopping of a fleeing vehicle by members of this agency may be considered by the use of a roadblock and or the use of a Tire Deflation Device. **a. **Roadblocks shall only be established and maintained, regarding a vehicle pursuit, in an attempt to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon who presents a clear and present danger to other citizens. **b. **The authority to establish a roadblock shall rest with the shift commander. **c. **Roadblocks may only be attempted by using city vehicles or temporary barriers. **d. **At no time shall the citizens of this community be ordered to subject either their person or property to a blockade effort. **e. **Ideally, a fixed roadblock should be staffed by a minimum of one (1) sergeant and two (2) patrol officers. **f.**  A roadblock may be discontinued by the shift commander or higher ranking officer at any time. **g. **Roadblocks requiring the maintenance of several blockade positions shall be established and coordinated by the shift commander as he/she deems necessary. **h.** The use of a moving roadblock preceding the suspect vehicle is also prohibited. **i. ** The use of roadblocks shall only be instituted after exhausting all other efforts to terminate the flight of the fleeing felon. **3.** The use of Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) is also prohibited. **L. **Tire Deflation Devices (TDD) **1. **TDDs may be used to end a vehicular pursuit.  TDDs may not be used to stop or apprehend motorcycles or other two wheeled vehicles. **2. **TDDs will be deployed only with the approval of a supervisor who is present and monitoring the pursuit in person or by radio.  The supervisor must consider all other factors involved in the pursuit from its beginning and with this information authorize the use of TDDs to terminate or slow the pursuit. **3. **Tire Deflation Device Requirements **a. **No officer, reserve or other department employee shall deploy a TDD unless the following criteria are met: **b. **The officer has received the required training for deployment of the TDD as established by the Training Director. **c. **A supervisor has authorized deployment of the TDD.  The only exception to this requirement is when, in the totality of the situation or circumstances surrounding the pursuit, there are additional risks that would clearly outweigh prior approval of the supervisor to deploy the devices. **d. **The deploying officer must advise pursuing vehicles, by radio, that TDDs will be used, the location of where they will be deployed, and any controlled lane restrictions established. **4. **Tire Deflation Devices may not be deployed for the following purposes: **a. **To terminate pursuits involving motorcycles or other two wheeled vehicles, or any vehicle transporting flammable or hazardous materials. **b. **Roadways bounded by steep descending embankments. **c. **Areas of special events or activities. **d. **Curves or locations where the safety of oncoming traffic cannot be ensured i.e., blind hills and curves. **e. **Construction zones. **f. **Requests by outside agencies for the use or deployment of TDDs will be made at the discretion of the authorizing supervisor. **5. **Post Tire Deflation Device Deployment Procedures **a. **Established training practices will determine the actual deployment and removal of TDDs. **b. **Remove the TDD as soon as they are run over by the suspect vehicle to allow chasing police vehicles to safely proceed. **6.** Reporting Requirements **a.** The supervisor authorizing the TDD deployment will submit a detailed report describing every detail of the incident. **b. **The officer deploying the TDD will submit a detailed report describing their actions and results of the deployment. **c.  **The supervisor authorizing the pursuit and or deployment TDDs will collect all reports from officers participating in the pursuit and forward them through the chain of command to the Deputy Chiefs of the Uniform Division. **M. **Pursuit Review Panel **1. **The Chief of Police will periodically convene a Pursuit Review Panel that will investigate the circumstances of all police vehicular pursuits. **2. **The Pursuit Review Panel membership and the frequency of their meeting will be determined by the Chief of Police. **3. **The Pursuit Review Panel will consider all reports submitted to them and if necessary, review communication's audio tapes. **4. **The Panel will review and analyze the pursuit, the tactics used and the application of department policy as it was applied at the time of the pursuit. **5. **The Pursuit Review Panel will submit their findings and recommendations in writing to the Chief of Police. **6. **The Deputy Chiefs of the Uniform Division will conduct an annual documented analysis of all Police Pursuit Review reports with the appropriate statistics and submit the analysis to the Chief of Police. **N.** Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board Policy-Vehicle Pursuits: Minimum Standards **1.**  As of January 1, 2023 the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board has established uniform statewide minimum standards for vehicle pursuits with state and federal law. **2.**  The Fort Wayne Police Department will follow the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board Policy on Vehicle Pursuits: Minimum Standards, with the exception of Precision Immobilization Technique, which is strictly forbidden.