I wrote recently of the deeply serious and often fatal problems that high-speed police chases on public streets have created for decades.
That column brought significant responses. Most favored local and state police agencies establishing far safer ways to arrest suspects. One came from a man I've long respected, Larry Ash of Fayetteville. He's a man with the experience and standing to make credible observations.
So today, I'm sharing the message Ash, with 25 years as a reserve officer at communities such the Los Angeles Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff's office and police departments in the cities of Johnson and Springdale, related about this deadly matter.
"It's not just high-speed pursuits that are problematic," he explained. "Officers tend to respond to requests for assistance from other officers by running Code 3 (lights and sirens) even in heavy traffic. A majority of drivers have no idea what to do when in front of a police car going 70 in the middle lane. They jam on their brakes or swerve right or left.
"In one case, I was the passenger officer. When we reached the location, the conflict proved to be a resolved confrontation between two parties. So my partner risked our lives and those of numerous civilians for nothing. This kind of thing happens most every day in each jurisdiction."
Ash told me he "didn't see older patrol officers generally involved in this stupid behavior since most wind up promoted to desk jobs. They're no longer under the control of raging hormones that younger officers often are. We have to find ways to train that behavior out of younger officers. Being under radio supervision on every high-speed event by a sergeant is critical. Calling out pursuit locations also helps. It's very easy from a police viewpoint to get tunnel vision and lose awareness of people and traffic crossing streets if all you are thinking about is getting some idiot who's running."
He said part of the answer lies at the beginning of any potential high-speed pursuit. That's when dispatch ought to surrender control to a supervisor who should ascertain the circumstances through relevant questions such as why the officer is going Code 3, what traffic's like, if there are closer units, the alleged violation, and what other jurisdictions can be called to help down the road.
"Supervisors are generally more experienced and, unlike the pursuing officer, not hyped up and subject to tunnel vision," he said. "This approach has been LAPD policy and has greatly cut down on tragedies from pursuits. Another policy has an officer continually broadcasting his location so other responding units don't hit him (as has happened). The best daylight solution is to bring in a helicopter that can follow a suspect from the air, then take him at his destination."
While I've written of the needless July 27 death of Terry Stambaugh of Harrison during an unnecessary high-speed police pursuit on U.S. 65, Ash reminded me of three kids in eastern Oklahoma recently killed and two others hospitalized "when some small-town Oklahoma cop chased them at up to 90 mph north of Highway 59 until they they hit a tree. Nobody called the local sheriff for help, nor the Oklahoma highway patrol. It was this cowboy cop against drunk teenagers.
"The problem comes down to lack of procedures and training," Ash continued. "One lesson I learned at the LAPD academy is how you're no good to your fellow officers or anyone else if you have an accident while running Code 3 to assist in another situation. These days, many people drive with their windows rolled up blasting music. They have no idea a cop is behind them with lights and sirens. When they figure it out, they don't know what to do. On the cop side, departments need to make better use of mutual aid. On a number of occasions when I worked for the city of Johnson, we'd chase motorists into Fayetteville or Springdale and our dispatcher never asked either of those departments to assist us, which is just crazy."
"Finally, years ago I met a southbound driver in the northbound lane of I-49. I had to stop and shake about 10 minutes before I could drive again. The Missouri cops [in the Stambaugh death] should have followed this guy running southbound in the northbound lane while staying in the southbound lane, constantly broadcasting their location so Arkansas cops could take him.
"I've been on enough pursuits to know when to call them off and seek assistance, and how incredible scary they are and how easy it is to make a driving error at high speeds and kill yourself. It's often over nothing more than some guy who is running because he hasn't paid his child support."
Ash sees a significant difference in how cops should handle a suspect running from a murder or violent assault versus a simple violation or traffic stop. "In the first case, it should be a well-managed and coordinated effort to make sure you get him while minimizing risks to officers and the public. In the second instance, if the idiot is running 70 on a narrow two-lane road, consider spike strips or just forgetting about it. We'll get him another day."
Sounds like common sense to me.
------------v------------
Mike Masterson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 08/23/2015