LAPD is reviewing its pursuit policy Following the tragic death of a four year-old girl on the weekend of June 1st during a chase of a suspect who was driving a stolen car, the Police Commission has asked the Department and Commission staff for a review of LAPD's pursuit policy.

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The process began at a Special Meeting held on June 4th with a preliminary presentation of the LAPD's Current Pursuit Policy, a brief (and it turned out incomplete) explanation of the comparative statistical analysis over the past few years, and a short description of the event which had precipitated the Commission's call for a review.

Somewhat sketchy details were given about the incident that had cost the four year-old her life. Later accounts revealed that a chain reaction accident had occurred when patrol officers decided to pursue a suspect in a stolen BMW through busy downtown streets.

It was explained that the officers had activated their lights in an effort to warn pedestrians because the suspect had driven up on a sidewalk. The suspect had been chased for about two minutes before he careened into a parked vehicle, which in turn had struck a light pole, which in turn fell on the youngster killing her.

Officers have a very tough job in all this, as they're called upon to make extremely demanding and often split-second decisions. They require and deserve clear guidelines that weigh the safety of the officer, the suspect and the innocent bystander against the capture of a person who flees from apprehension.


Recent LAPD Statistical Analysis

The Commission was told by Deputy Chief David Doan that the Risk Management Group at LAPD is in the process of devising a method of doing comparative statistical analysis, and he offered figures for 2000, 2001, and 2002 year to date (through May 31st). This last group of figures, the ones for 2002, turned out to be incorrect.

Here is the data which was presented to the Commission:

Chief Doan said the Department could show a significant reduction in injuries resulting from the collisions.

He pointed out to the Commission that only 3 of the 58 collisions which occurred in 2002 had resulted in injuries, and all were minor injuries to Department employees. But this statistic was immediately challenged by Commission President Rick Caruso.

Caruso recalled a police pursuit which occurred in mid March, during which two elderly residents were severely injured in the vicinity of the Beverly Center. Commissioner Caruso asked why this case was not included, a sentiment later echoed by a community member, the daughter of the badly injured couple, who eloquently spoke about her parent's ordeal during the Public Comment period. She said her parents, who were pedestrians, will never recover and she severely criticized the pursuit policy.

Chief Doan had no immediate explanation as to why this obvious incident had not made it into the statistical analysis he'd offered, but he stated that the overall number of LAPD police pursuits has declined significantly. In recent years there have been about 60 pursuits per month, but this year it's down to about 30.

Following the statistical report at the Special Meeting the Commission asked for a formal comparative review of the pursuit policy, looking at what has been done in other law enforcement jurisdictions with an eye towards making recommendations for possible changes at LAPD.


Other places, other policies

To be sure, other cities struggle with this question, too. Pursuit policies across the country and overseas have guidelines that are available for comparative analysis. Place to place the range of what's forbidden and allowed is significant. They should be studied and reviewed in light of our needs in Los Angeles, so that the most safe and sane method of catching "bad guys" is devised.

Some of the most interesting cases to study will come from cities like Miami, which we're told instituted a restrictive pursuit policy some ten years ago. In all but the most serious cases involving violent criminals, the Miami policy disallows pursuits. Even a stolen car will not result in a chase. It seems the officers resisted the new policy at first, but quickly came around, as they discovered that Miami's pursuits dropped from about 400 in one year to about 40 in the next.

Obviously public and officer safety would improve dramatically with such a policy, as do a wide variety of indemnification issues resulting from accidents that occur during pursuits.

Comparative statistical studies will be useful to be sure, but in the end the Department will have to determine what's better for Los Angeles over all, and it may well end up being necessary to abandon some old ideas.


Press and community responsibility

Here in LA, where the principal method of policing is done from patrol cars and where the automobile is king, we seem to have an especially eager appetite to watch these pursuits on television, an appetite that broadcasters seem only too willing to satisfy. Local traffic helicopters provide a near perfect eye-in-the-sky platform for competing television stations to provide live coverage.

Over the years we've all observed many such chases, and have seen instances where the suspect, even after its obvious he'll be caught, actually revels in the coverage, even to the point of being cheered as he passes by local residents.

Perhaps it's only fair we take the time for a long hard look at the significant role the press and the community plays in all of this, too.

We'll all need to accept responsibility, and come up with a plan that makes sense. I think most would agree that pursuit of a suspect, except in the most grievous of cases, must always take public safety into consideration ... but it's never worth the life of a little girl.