Law: The Perils of Hot Pursuit

The scene is de rigueur in any self-respecting cinematic crime thriller: an officer grabs the patrol-car mike and announces, “Officers in hot pursuit.” Sirens blare, lights flash, hearts and motors race. Sometimes the chase is exhilarating, as in Bullitt. Sometimes it is comic, as in Smokey and the Bandit. It invariably involves smashups and high tension, but rarely does anyone get hurt. Alas, nothing could be further from reality. “The pursuit is a cop’s most deadly weapon other than a gun,” declares criminal-justice professor Geoffrey Alpert of the University of South Carolina. Some believe it is deadlier. Says Erik Beckman, professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University: “High-speed chases probably result in a greater toll in injuries and deaths than incidents involving police use of deadly force.”

Systematic study of police chases has been scant, but three recent reviews of data from a number of states found that between 17% and 45% of such pursuits ended in property damage, 14% to 23% in injury and up to 3% in a fatality. About two-thirds of the injuries and deaths occurred among occupants of the pursued car; the rest were divided between officers and bystanders.

Is such vehicular mayhem justified? Many police and some legal experts argue that high-speed chases help maintain respect for the law. Says Sergeant Jim Mattos, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol: “As soon as you develop a policy of no chases, then the only people who are going to stop are the honest ones.” Moreover, supporters insist, many chases end in the capture and arrest of serious criminals. Asks Donald Schroeder, adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan: “If it were the Son of Sam in the car that you were chasing, would you let him get away?”

Others scoff at the idea that most pursuits involve fleeing ax murderers or worse. Half the time police are running after someone who has committed a minor traffic violation. Such was the case in Philadelphia last month, when police sped after a car that ran a red light; the ten-block chase through a residential area ended in the deaths of a 52-year-old father of nine and an eleven-year-old girl.

Why do motorists flee from the scenes of minor infractions? Panic, usually, says Michigan State’s Beckman. “They run because they’re driving Uncle Freddie’s car, when Uncle Freddie told them not to. Or they have a six-pack of beer in the car and they’re underage. Or they have an expired license. Or they have an outstanding warrant for nonsupport.” Most of the runaway drivers are in their teens or 20s, while those doing the chasing tend to be young, inexperienced officers. For the cops, pursuits can spark up long hours of dull patrol duty. In addition, “there is a John Wayne syndrome,” notes Hubert Williams, president of the Police Foundation in Washington; police work attracts some aggressive “risk takers” who are apt to get caught up in macho antics.

Closer scrutiny of the benefits and risks is leading police departments to impose tighter restrictions on high-speed chases. But the strongest impulse for curbing the hit-the-accelerator tactic has been financial. Since a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court decision made it easier for citizens to sue municipalities, there has been an upsurge in lawsuits nationwide. Attorney Barry Waldman of Detroit has represented victims and their families in ten chases. The longest: a 22-mile, 90-m.p.h. race through residential streets that began when a motorist ran a stop sign and ended when his car killed a work-bound autoworker. The victim’s family won a judgment of $1 million against the police.

Many police departments now have writtenguidelines that require officers to notify headquarters as soon as they begin a chase to report their reason for pursuit and their speed and location at regular intervals. Monitoring supervisors can call off a chase if they consider it unwarranted or when it threatens lives. In San Francisco, which enacted its chase policy seven years ago, supervisors cancel 85% of all pursuits by motorcycle cops. Dallas imposed strict chase rules two years ago. The result: chases are down 12.5% since last year. If the trend continues, someday the thrilling rides may be mainly confined to the silver screen.