High-speed chases ought to be thing of the past

There’s no denying that watching a high-speed chase unfold during a cops-and-robbers TV show can be an adrenaline rush. There’s also no denying that in real life, these chases too often can end in tragedy — both for officers in pursuit and the people they are chasing.

But unless a state or local officer is chasing a suspected serial killer or a driver so erratic the danger to others is great, use other ways to catch crooks or traffic scofflaws.

The collateral damage of such chases is too high.

Just this week two high-speed chases showed once again how dangerous they can be. It’s a miracle no one was severely injured when state police officers chased after drivers on nearby highways — U.S. 84/285 and Interstate 25.

In both cases, the dangers to others on the highway were clear when police officers went to pull over the drivers. Both were driving erratically, but it’s an open question whether speeding after them didn’t just put more people at risk.

Officers have to be cautious when deciding when to chase. In many cases, a highspeed pursuit is both unnecessary and dangerous.

This is a national problem.

An analysis by the Fine Law Firm released in 2020 found 1,699 fatal crashes involving police chases from 2014-18, killing at least 2,005 people. Of those, 1,123 were not the driver of the fleeing vehicle. That means innocent people are dying.

In Albuquerque, two people were killed in 2017 as a result of a high-speed chase, with a third dying later of injuries suffered in the crash. In total, the analysis found 23 deaths, 10 of them bystanders, in New Mexico over the years studied.

Instead of turning on the siren and flooring the accelerator, police departments — both state and local — have other choices. One is to let some suspects go. Or, they can take down the license plate — or capture it on video — so an arrest can occur without such risk to life and limb. They can call ahead to other officers, who can get in front of fleeing vehicles to catch the miscreants without endangering other motorists.

They also can use greater technology for safer pursuits. Cops can launch a tag at suspects’ vehicles and follow virtually. Intercepting the suspect can then happen safely.

Various electronic or energy devices can be placed on roads with the ability to disrupt vehicles’ electrical systems. The chase stops because the car stops; it has to. Shredding tires is a tried-and-true tactic. Now, officers can place the device on the highway to be activated when the right truck or car arrives and the spikes pop up.

The high-speed chases so beloved by television news and cop shows could be a thing of the past. Until then, police officers should do their darnedest to avoid them. That’s putting public safety first.