BRIDGETON POLICE DEPARTMENT DUTY MANUAL TITLE: DEPARTMENT VEHICLES/EQUIPMENT TOPIC: PURSUITS EFFECTIVE DATE: 12/23/09 OR WHEN RECEIVED CANCELED PUBLICATIONS: RULE #16 REVISION DATE: 12/22/2009 GENERAL ORDERS: 13-03 DISTRIBUTION: ALL PERSONNEL NUMBER OF PAGES 7 INDEX: PURSUITS PARALLELLING CARAVANNING RAMMING PRIMARY UNIT SECONDARY UNIT ROADBLOCKS PURSUITS-TIRE DEFLATION DEVICE PURSUITS-EMERGENCY VEHICLE PURSUITS-SERIOUS FELONY OVERTAKING A. PURPOSE: The purpose of this General Order is to establish the policy and procedure for vehicular pursuit situations and to stress that the responsibility and necessity to affect the attest must be balanced against overall consideration of both officer safety and public safety. This General Order is for Department use only and does not apply in any criminal or civil proceedings. This Order should not be construed as a creation of a higher legal standard of safety or care in an evidentiary sense with respect to third party claims. This Order will only form the basis for Departmental administrative review and possible cotl'ective action conceming conduct allegedly performed without regard for these guidelines and policy, although that conduct may conform with all legal norms of care and safety. B. POLICY: A vehicle pursuit may be initiated only when an officer has probable cause to believe the violator has committed a felony. Pursuits for misdemeanors or City ordinance violations are prohibited. Paralleling and caravanning are prohibited. Pursuing officers shall not pull alongside of or in front of a fleeing motorist in an attempt to force the subject off of the roadway or into a curb, parked vehicle, or any other obstacle, nor shall any attempt be made to ram the fleeing vehicle, unless such action is necessary for the preservation of life, and at such time the use of deadly force is justified as defined in General Order 10.01 (Use of Force). C. DEFINITIONS: Page 1 of7 1) "Emergency Vehicle" Both the red light and siren must be used at all times when in pursuit by marked and unmarked cars. Police vehicles not so equipped will not engage in pursuits. 2) "Pursuit" - An attempt by a police officer driving an emergency vehicle to apprehend the occupants of a moving vehicle who are knowingly evading atl'est
by maintaining or increasing the speed of a vehicle and by ignoring the police officer's direction to stop. 3) "Paralleling" - The operation of police units parallel to the pursuit route. 4) "Caravanning" - The operation of police units in a line or alongside each other in a pursuit situation. 5) "Ramming" - The intentional striking of a fleeing vehicle with a police vehicle with the intent to stop. 6) "Primary Unit" - The primmy unit will be considered the unit initiating the pursuit. 7) "Secondary Unit" - The second unit involved in the pursuit, assisting the primary unit. 8) "Serious Felony" - A felony that involved an actual or threatened attack that the Officer has reasonable cause to believe could or has resulted in death or serious bodily injury. 9) "Probable Cause" - Reasonable cause; having more evidence for than against. A reasonable ground for belief in certain alleged facts. A set of probabilities grounded in the factual and practical considerations which govern the decisions of reasonable and prudent persons and is more than mere suspicion but less than the quantum of evidence required for conviction. U.S. v. Riemer, D.C. Ohio, 392 F.Supp. 1291, 1294. An apparent state of facts found to exist upon reasonable inquiry (that is, such inquhy as the given case renders convenient and proper), which would induce a reasonably intelligent and prudent man to believe, in a criminal case, that the accused person had committed the crime charged, or, in a civil case, that a cause of action existed. Cook v. Singer Sewing Mach. Co., 138 Cal.App. 418, 32 P.2d 430, 431. D. OVERTAKING VIOLATORS: 1) In the normal course of stopping or attempting to stop vehicles officers may find themselves in situations where they need to rapidly increase speed in order to ove1take or catch up to a suspect vehicle. In some overtaking situations operating the police vehicle in "emergency" mode is neither practical nor required. When overtaking a suspect vehicle officers must constantly weigh the need for stealth and requirements for safety when deciding whether or not to activate the vehicle emergency equipment. 2) To diminish the likelihood of a pursuit, officers intending to stop a vehicle should, when practical, be within close proximity of the vehicle prior to activating the Page 2 of 7
emergency lights and siren. 3) A driver who is suspected of operating a motor vehicle in an intoxicated condition may not realize an officer is attempting to stop him. An officer who is following a driver who is not yielding to the officer's lights and siren, but otherwise is not taking any overt action to avoid apprehension (ie: excessive acceleration, high speeds, obvious attempts at evasion, etc.), is not in pursuit of the vehicle for purposes of this policy. 4) During the course of enforcement activities, specific incidents may escalate from routine overtaking situations if the suspect attempts to evade apprehension. When this occurs, providing the suspect is wanted for a felony, officers may initiate a pursuit. Initiation of the pursuit will be in accordance with this General Order. E. PRIMARY UNIT RESPONSIBILITIES: 1) The primary unit (unit initiating the pursuit) will be responsible for the following: Page 3 of 7 a) Announcing the initiation of the pursuit and advising the dispatcher of the following information that is known. b) Direction of travel and what roadway; c) Identification of vehicle, (year, make, model, color, license information, etc.) d) Reason for pursuit (vehicle stolen, occupant wanted for crime of homicide, rape, burgla1y, etc.); e) Number and description of occupants; f) Other information that may help terminate the pursuit or resolve the incident. 2) The primaty unit will have the responsibility for radio traffic until joined by a secondary unit at which time the primary unit will have the option to pass the responsibility for radio traffic to the secondary unit. 3) The dispatcher will serve as the controller for all radio messages relevant to the pursuit. 4) The dispatcher will, as soon as possible, broadcast all available infotmation relating to the pursuit to surrounding agencies. 5) The supervision of the pursuit rests with the supervisor or watch commander on
duty. 6) The number of the police vehicles involved in the pursuit will be limited to two vehicles, a primary and secondary unit, unless additional units are directed to participate by the dispatcher or supervisor. 7) Additional units may be requested by the primary or secondary units. F. SECONDARY UNIT RESPONSIBILITIES: G. ROADBLOCKS: I) The secondaty vehicle will be responsible for the following: Page 4 of 7 a) The secondary unit will maintain a safe distance behind the primary unit, taking care to maintain a safe stopping distance for evasive action but maintaining visual contact. b) The secondaty unit will not pass the primaty unit unless requested to pass the primary unit and assume the prima1y unit role. c) Will assume responsibility for radio traffic when so directed by the primmy unit. d) In the event that the primary unit experiences mechanical problems or is otherwise unable to continue, the secondary unit will become the primary unit and another nearby unit will be assigned to assume the secondary unit responsibilities. e) The secondary unit will immediately comply with an order to terminate the pursuit. 1) Neither of the below described roadblocks, nor any other type, shall be set up, used or requested by any Bridgeton Officer involved in a pursuit. a) Stationaty Roadblocks are those in which an Officer places his vehicle or some other stationary vehicle across or in the road to block a subject's route of escape or travel. b) Rolling or Moving Type Roadblocks are those in which 3 or 4 Police vehicles surround a suspect vehicle - one in front, one behind, one on the left side and one on the right side and all attempt to slow down and stop the suspect vehicle. 2) The use of department issued tire deflating devices (stop sticks) is an alternative
to use of a roadblock. The policy and procedure for use of the tire deflating device is contained in General Order 13-10. H. PURSUIT OF VEHICLE INTO ANOTHER JURISDICTION: 1) Pursuit of a vehicle into another jurisdiction will ONLY be made when the vehicle/driver is wanted on a serious felony charge. The restriction above does not prohibit officers from entering another jurisdiction to affect routine stops for car checks or traffic violations which originate within the City of Bridgeton. 2) When it appears that a pursuit of a vehicle or driver wanted for a felony may enter another jurisdiction, that police agency will be immediately advised of the pursuit and all petiinent infom1ation, including the charge( s) for which the vehicle is being pursued. I. FELONY CHARGES - OTHER STATES: 1) If an officer of this Department pursues a person across a State line for a felony and the person is anested, the officer will request that the person be held pending application for an at-large warrant. An at-large warrant should be applied for as soon as possible with a police report being prepared and extradition proceedings being started. J. TERMINATION OF THE PURSUIT: 1) Pursuing officers and the pursuit supervisor must consider the present danger, seriousness of the crime involved, length of the pursuit and the possibility of identifying the suspect at a later time when determining whether or not to continue the pursuit. Such things as speed of vehicles, weather conditions, presence of other traffic, amount of maneuvering, condition of the police vehicle and roads are all factors that need to be evaluated in determining the present danger of the pursuit. A pursuit may be terminated by: a) The primary pursuing unit; or b) The immediate supervisor of the primary unit; or c) Any Command Rank Officer. NOTE: If the occupants of the pursued vehicle are known, consideration should be given to terminating the pursuit and affecting the arrest at a later time. 2) Once a pursuit is terminated, it will not be initiated again by another officer or supervisor unless other serious developments occur that would warrant pursuit to be initiated again. Page 5 of7
3) If additional info1mation is obtained that the driver or vehicle is wanted for a felony, the information will be broadcast. The pursuit supervisor will be responsible for coordinating any further search for the vehicle and suspects or returning involved units to normal duty. 4) When advised that the pursuit has been terminated, the dispatcher will broadcast that infonnation to all units, and will so advise any surrounding jurisdictions that have been alerted. K. PURSUITS INTO BRIDGETON BY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES: 1) Pursuits initiated by other agencies for traffic, misdemeanor and/or infraction type offenses which enter or pass through the corporate limits of the City of Bridgeton shall not be joined by Bridgeton Officers. 2) Bridgeton Police vehicles will not become involved in pursuits for felony type offenses initiated by other agencies which enter or pass through the corporate limits of the City of Bridgeton unless directed to do so by the Watch Commander or Supervisor. 3) If Bridgeton Officers are specifically requested to assist by the pursuing agency, the Officer or Supervisor may decline assistance based on traffic present, weather conditions and/or offense committed by the subject pursued, and number of Police vehicles already involved. 4) Any time another jurisdiction pursues a vehicle into Bridgeton, Bridgeton Officers will not become involved unless the vehicle is either involved in an accident in Bridgeton or stopped in Bridgeton and the pursuing agency needs assistance in effecting an arrest. L. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: 1) In instances where a pursuit, by department personnel or by other agencies, tenninates in the City of Bridgeton an on duty supervisor will respond to the tennination point to insure that all necessary assistance is rendered, investigation conducted and incident reports made when required. 2) In instances where there are two supervisors on duty, and a pursuit involving Bridgeton officers tenninates outside of the City of Bridgeton, a supervisor will respond to the tennination point. 3) In instances where there is only one supervisor on duty, and a pursuit involving Bridgeton officers tenninates outside of the City of Bridgeton, the on duty supervisor will exercise his judgment in detennining if his response to the Page 6 of 7
termination point is essential. a) If the circumstances of the termination are uneventful (i.e. there are no injuries, no accident, no shots fired, etc.) he may forgo responding in person but will maintain contact with any Bridgeton officers at the termination point either by radio or telephone. b) If the circumstances of the termination require his presence (i.e. there is an accident, shots fired, assault on an officer, damage to a police vehicle, etc.) or if requested to respond by the agency in which the pursuit terminates, he will notify his next higher person in the chain of command of the situation and appoint a senior officer who is on duty to take over supervision of the shift during his absence. By Order Of: &4 #Zi~/ Col. waitermute Chief of Police Date Page 7 of 7