Chapter 6: Main Points Summary

Introducing Our Model Use of Force Policy Beta Release

As part of the SCRJ’s Model Use of Force Policy Beta Release, we will be posting individual chapters and accompanying explanatory materials, including main point summaries and fact sheets. Read the full Chapter 6: Vehicle Pursuits and Tactical Apprehensions.

WHAT ARE VEHICLE PURSUITS?

An active attempt by an officer in an authorized emergency vehicle to apprehend a fleeing suspect in a motor vehicle who is attempting to elude the officer.

WHEN ARE VEHICLE PURSUITS ALLOWED?

  1. When the officer determines that probable cause exists that an occupant of the vehicle has committed or attempted to commit a crime of violence;
  2. The subject’s escape would pose an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or to another person; and
  3. The vehicle pursuit can be safely undertaken based on a balance of safety and risk factors.

There are 12 factors that must be considered to determine whether the vehicle pursuit would be safe to initiate, including any other condition or situation that would create an unreasonable risk.

  • The risk of the subject’s conduct to third parties
  • Existence of vehicular and pedestrian traffic
  • Officer training and experience
  • Known information on the pursuit’s subject
  • Lighting and visibility
  • Available equipment
  • Road configuration
  • Weather and environmental conditions
  • Speed and evasive tactics employed by the suspect
  • Physical location and population density
  • The relative performance capabilities of the pursuit vehicle and the vehicle being pursued
  • The presence of other persons in the police and suspect vehicle

ADDITIONAL KEY PROVISIONS

  • Officers must receive supervisor approval before initiating a vehicle pursuit.
  • Tactical apprehension techniques may be used when vehicle pursuits are not authorized.
  • The act of eluding alone does not justify a vehicle pursuit. Eluding is when a driver’s act of increasing speed, taking evasive actions, or refusing to stop after a reasonable time, after an officer’s use of voice, lights, or sirens to signal to the driver to stop.
  • Certain intervention tactics are not permitted: Fixed roadblocks; ramming; forcing vehicles off the road; and discharging a firearm in an effort to stop an eluding vehicle.

DOWNLOAD OUR CHAPTER 6 FACT SHEET.

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