ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Highway Patrol leaders have issued a partial explanation for their decision to relax the agency’s high-speed pursuit policy last month.
The revision swapped language urging caution and safety with sentences that encouraged engaging in pursuits to obtain justice.
Among other things, it also dropped a requirement that a person needed to be suspected of a felony, DUI or reckless driving in order for a chase to be authorized.
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Despite being a staple of action movies, pursuits have been a controversial practiced inside and outside of law enforcement circles for decades.
Studies have shown one person is killed in a high-speed chase every day in the United States. A third of pursuits end in crashes and 17% result in injuries and fatalities, with 25% of them happening to innocent bystanders, passengers or law enforcement officers.
Department of Justice memos discourage agencies from engaging in pursuits for minor offenses, saying the dangers outweighed the potential apprehension.
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However, FHP’s new explanation takes another tone, saying the new policy aligned with Gov. DeSantis’ vision that Florida was a “law and order” state.
“While many states shy away from holding dangerous felons accountable for their decisions, the Florida Highway Patrol seeks to use every tool and tactic available to ensure dangerous felons end up in jail and off our streets,” Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Executive Director Dave Kerner wrote.
Kerner noted that the new policy encouraged ending pursuits quickly, either through a PIT maneuver – a tactic that comes with its own warnings – or another tactic, including calling the chase off.
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He said troopers received extensive training and the state was making investments in tools like helicopters and drones to assist them.
“We put focus and emphasis on the destructive behaviors of reckless fleeing felons, instead of excusing or ignoring their behaviors and decisions,” Kerner said. “Floridians have the right to be… protected on their roadways and highways.”
However, FHP’s statement did not include any data supporting the need for additional pursuits, or an explanation of why leaders believed the old version of the policy, passed in October 2022, was too restrictive.
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“Was this policy the result of them doing an in-depth analysis, saying that we were terminating or not pursuing, and those individuals went on to hurt Florida citizens?” police consultant Dr. Randy Nelson wondered before the statement was released.
Opponents of pursuits include many family members of people killed by chases, including the late father of a UCF student who was killed by a suspect being chased in Orange County in 2001.
His campaign caused most Central Florida agencies to restrict high-speed chases to violent felons, which pursuit opponents see as the model for agencies, since they acknowledge pursuits are a necessary tool to stop immediate threats to public safety.
“We’re still catching the bad guys,” then-OPD chief Mike McCoy said to reporters.
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