Officer crashes police cruiser during chase

Controversial tactic used to stop woman driving stolen vehicle

A Houston officer crashed a police cruiser Wednesday morning after using a controversial pursuit tactic to stop a stolen vehicle in Simonton.

The pursuit started around 1 a.m. in the 10000 block of Bissonnet when an officer noticed a car that was known to be stolen, said Lt. Larry Crowson of the Houston Police Department.

The woman who was driving the car refused to stop and took police on a 45-minute chase, ending on FM 1489 in Simonton, south of Brookshire.

Eventually, a Houston police officer tried using the PIT maneuver, or precision immobilization technique, to stop the fleeing car. In the maneuver, an officer drives up alongside the fleeing driver and bumps the rear of the vehicle just behind the back wheel. If it’s successful, the fleeing vehicle will spin out and stop safely, causing minimal damage to both cars.

While the PIT maneuver Wednesday was successful in stopping the woman accused of fleeing from police, it caused the officer to lose control of the car and strike a telephone pole, Crowson said.

The maneuver was approved for Houston police officers in November as a way to end deadly chases. But the tactic is controversial because it can be dangerous for police and hard on police vehicles, some experts and law enforcement officials have argued.

Houston officers must have 10 hours of training before they can use the PIT maneuver in a chase.

Wednesday’s pursuit will be reviewed by Houston police, an HPD spokesman said. Every pursuit is reviewed, however, regardless of whether a PIT maneuver is used or a crash results, he said.

The woman driving the fleeing car was taken into custody at the scene. No injuries were reported.