Too many people die in high-speed police chases
Across the USA, there has been intense and justified focus on deadly encounters between police and the public in the year since Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Mo. But little noticed in the debate about police shootings are the hundreds of people killed and injured every year in police car chases.
A USA TODAY analysis of federal and state data revealed a body count of more than 11,500 since 1979, far more Americans than were killed in the decadelong occupation of Iraq. About 1% of the deaths were of police officers; 55% were fleeing drivers; and 44% were bystanders or passengers in fleeing vehicles.
Police typically dismiss these deaths as the tragic consequence of illegal actions by fleeing drivers. But the majority of police chases are not in hot pursuit of violent felons who are a danger to the public if they get away.
Data from the International Association of Chiefs of Police show that out of 17,000 chase records across the country since 2001, 92% of them started because of a misdemeanor, traffic infraction or non-violent felony such as car theft. The investigation by USA TODAY’s Thomas Frank identified examples of police chases this year, in which innocent bystanders were killed, that were started because a driver ran a red light, was an alleged shoplifter or had headlights off.
Police have long known of the dangers of such chases. In 1990, the Justice Department called chases the “most dangerous of all ordinary police activities” and urged departments to avoid many of them. Despite the warning, chase-related deaths topped more than 300 in 2013, nearly the same number as in 1990.
One way to reduce this bloody toll is for police to use more discretion in whom they chase. As the Justice Department wrote in 1990, “For anyone other than a violent felon, the balance weighs against the high-speed chase.”
But many police departments have resisted this approach because officers don’t know when a stolen vehicle, or a person driving with lights off or speeding, is a sign of a more serious crime. Police also worry that if they back off of chasing suspects, criminals are likely to take it as an invitation to lawlessness.
Those concerns are overblown. Among cities that have restricted chases, Milwaukee has seen car thefts go up, but FBI data show that Dallas, Phoenix and Orlando have all had significant decreases in crime.
A second way to curb dangerous chases is to make greater use of technological alternatives. Tire spikes remain the most prevalent method of stopping a chase. Emerging technologies include GPS tracking devices that can be attached to fleeing vehicles, and a microwave gun that would turn off a car’s engine remotely. These technologies hold considerable promise but face hurdles involving reliability and cost.
Until these options become widespread, agencies need to be more selective about whom they chase. As a recent White House report on police shootings put it, “Law enforcement should embrace a guardian — rather than a warrior — mindset.” That means putting the lives of innocent bystanders first, even if the arrest of a minor offender has to wait.