High-speed police chases have killed thousands of innocent bystanders

[GMDino]

(09-16-2015, 10:39 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: How often do you think someone runs when they don't have another, more serious offense, that they are concerned about being arrested for? My guess would be less than 2%. Even if the number is as high as 25% the numbers are on the side of the chase. The knowledge that police will give chase and making them do so will result in stiffer penalties is probably a deterrent for many to not act like a jackass and take off. Take away that and you will see an increase of people speeding away, which would mean a higher frequency of speeding vehicles evading the police.

I suggest only that you read the article in the first post.

My question is not: Should we let potentially bad people free?  But rather was is the risk / reward of the situation.  Someone willing to run from the police and risk a high speed chase may ALSO be willing to do other things like take hostages or shoot at the officers, whatever.  If you have the plate and you know the vehicle are the other ways to follow up and capture said "criminal".

Quote:Few drivers fleeing police are wanted felons, according to statistics and research. Most committed minor offenses and "made very bad decisions to flee," a 2008 paper by thePolice Foundation said.


In Pennsylvania, records of 32,000 chases since 1997 show that the most common charge against fleeing drivers was theft, including stealing or illegally possessing the car they were driving. The other most-frequent charges were resisting arrest, underage drinking and misdemeanor assault.

A Justice Department-funded 1998 study found after interviewing fleeing drivers that 32% drove off because they were in a stolen car, 27% because they had a suspended driver's license, 27% wanted to avoid arrest and 21% because they were driving drunk.

"Overwhelmingly, someone is fleeing because they've got a minor warrant, their car isn't insured, they've had too much to drink," said Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn, who sharply restricted his department's pursuits in 2010 after four bystanders were killed in a three-month span.
For more serious offenses such as stealing a vehicle, "the sanctions imposed by courts nationwide for merely stealing a car don't justify anybody taking any risk," Flynn said.

On June 15, 2012, at 3:20 p.m., Austin, Texas, police chased a driver in a stolen pickup truck at 90 to 95 mph onto a highway and along a frontage road lined with service stations and fast-food restaurants. At an intersection, the truck slammed into a Mitsubishi driven by James Williford, 32, killing him instantly.

Driver Reynaldo Hernandez was convicted of murdering Williford and sentenced to 55 years. The Austin police chief cleared the two officers, saying they followed the policy of the department, which had been cracking down on auto thefts.


Esther Seoanes lost her best friend, her husband James Williford in 2012 by a fleeing driver being chased by the Austin Police Department. She is now involved with Pursuit Safety a group advocating for changes in police pursuit policies.(USA NEWS, USA TODAY)

Williford's widow Esther Seoanes holds the officers responsible for deciding to chase a stolen car.

"My husband," Seoanes said, "was essentially killed for a stolen vehicle."

"The moment the officer crossed over the median with lights and sirens and started the pursuit, he (Hernandez) immediately turned into one of those criminals and suspects who doesn't care about anything," said Seoanes, executive director of PursuitSAFETY, a nonprofit seeking to reduce chase-related deaths. "Drivers, they don't care about anyone's safety, and so the burden falls on the police to protect the public."