Most new police
officers, including myself when I started couldn't resist
getting into a police chase. I mean its one of the reasons
we were attracted to police work. On COPS we see it all the
time; we're sitting at the edge of our seats as some guy is
running from the police. And as soon as the person crashes
and the police arrest them, the police are the heros.
But there's a side to a police chase that you as an officer
should think about before you even get into one. And that is
how you will deal with certain things when they happen. For
example, if someone runs a red
light at 80 MPH and traffic is busy, will you continue with the
police chase? This is just an example scenario that you should
know ahead of time, because once the police chase begins, you'll
likely be so focused on the pursuit with things happening so fast
that you won't know what to do besides react.
But for the purpose of this article, lets think about some key
issues. For instance, does your department support you in a
high speed police chase? In other words, are they likely to
hang you out to dry in the event something goes bad, like someone
gets seriously hurt or killed? My department for example will
write you up in the event you merely scratch a cruiser regardless of
the reason for the chase. Pretty pathetic, huh? But its
true. Does this make me not chase bad guys? No, but it
weighs as a factor as to what's worth it and what's not.
What about the condition of your police vehicle? Does your
department have police packaged vehicles, or are they standard like
a lot of departments, simply adding lights and sirens? Our
department doesn't put special brakes or anything like that, so I
have to keep that in mind when I'm involved in a police chase.
Am I going to be able stop? Am I going to crash trying to
catch this person? What about the air in your tires?
What about the tread? Police chase videos have shown
officers crashing, later to find out the air in their tires were
low, and/or should have been replaced a long time ago. These
were the reasons for the crash which could have been avoided in the
first place.
What about your prosecutor? Do they support the police?
Next to your own personal safety, this should be high up on your
list. Why? Because lack of support exists in some areas
which could mean criminal charges against you in certain situations.
Believe me, I'm the first to not terminate a police chase, but as
the years go by, you start wising up to other factors that most
rookie officers never see coming. The point is, just know
ahead of time how you will deal with situations when they come up.
Know what your vehicle can do, and probably most of all, know your
own limitations. Are you a good driver in a police chase?
Have you had good police chase training? If a guy is doing a
100 MPH to get away, are you good enough of a driver to keep up
without killing yourself? Is it worth it? Just a few
things to think about "before" you get involved.
