Policy Text
Policy Delano Police Department
423 Delano PD Policy Manual
Foot Pursuit Policy
423.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This policy provides guidelines to assist officers in making the decision to initiate or continue the
pursuit of suspects on foot.
423.1.1 POLICY
It is the policy of this department when deciding to initiate or continue a foot pursuit that officers
must continuously balance the objective of apprehending the suspect with the risk and potential
for injury to department personnel, the public or the suspect.
Officers are expected to act reasonably, based on the totality of the circumstances. Absent
exigent circumstances, the safety of department personnel and the public should be the primary
consideration when determining whether a foot pursuit should be initiated or continued. Officers
must be mindful that immediate apprehension of a suspect is rarely more important than the safety
of the public and department personnel.
423.2 DECISION TO PURSUE
The safety of department members and the public should be the primary consideration when
determining whether a foot pursuit should be initiated or continued. Officers must be mindful that
immediate apprehension of a suspect is rarely more important than the safety of the public and
department members.
Officers may be justified in initiating a foot pursuit of any individual the officer reasonably believes
is about to engage in, is engaging in or has engaged in criminal activity. The decision to initiate
or continue such a foot pursuit, however, must be continuously re-evaluated in light of the
circumstances presented at the time.
Mere flight by a person who is not suspected of criminal activity shall not serve as justification for
engaging in an extended foot pursuit without the development of reasonable suspicion regarding
the individual’s involvement in criminal activity or being wanted by law enforcement.
Deciding to initiate or continue a foot pursuit is a decision that an officer must make quickly and
under unpredictable and dynamic circumstances. It is recognized that foot pursuits may place
department members and the public at significant risk. Therefore, no officer or supervisor shall
be criticized or disciplined for deciding not to engage in a foot pursuit because of the perceived
risk involved.
If circumstances permit, surveillance and containment are generally the safest tactics for
apprehending fleeing persons. In deciding whether to initiate or continue a foot pursuit, an
officer should continuously consider reasonable alternatives to a foot pursuit based upon the
circumstances and resources available, such as:
(a) Containment of the area.
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2019/12/06, All Rights Reserved. Foot Pursuit Policy - 1
Published with permission by Delano Police Department