Policy Text
Policy
314Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2021/04/07, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentVehicle Pursuits - 1Vehicle Pursuits
314.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Vehicle pursuits expose innocent citizens, law enforcement officers and fleeing violators to the risk
of serious injury or death. The primary purpose of this policy is to provide officers with guidance
in balancing the safety of the public and themselves against law enforcement's duty to apprehend
violators of the law. Another purpose of this policy is to reduce the potential for pursuit-related
collisions. Vehicular pursuits require officers to exhibit a high degree of common sense and sound
judgment. Officers must not forget that the immediate apprehension of a suspect is generally not
more important than the safety of the public and pursuing officers.
Deciding whether to pursue a motor vehicle is a critical decision that must be made quickly and
under difficult and unpredictable circumstances. In recognizing the potential risk to public safety
created by vehicular pursuits, no officer or supervisor shall be criticized or disciplined for deciding
not to engage in a vehicular pursuit because of the risk involved. This includes circumstances
where department policy would permit the initiation or continuation of the pursuit. It is recognized
that vehicular pursuits are not always predictable and decisions made pursuant to this policy will
be evaluated according to the totality of the circumstances reasonably available at the time of
the pursuit.
Officers must remember that the most important factors to the successful conclusion of a pursuit
are proper self-discipline and sound professional judgment. Officer's conduct during the course
of a pursuit must be objectively reasonable; that is, what a reasonable officer would do under the
circumstances. An unreasonable individual’s desire to apprehend a fleeing suspect at all costs
has no place in professional law enforcement.
314.1.1 VEHICLE PURSUIT DEFINED
A vehicle pursuit is an event involving one or more law enforcement officers attempting to
apprehend a suspect, who is attempting to avoid arrest while operating a motor vehicle by using
high-speed driving or other evasive tactics, such as driving off a highway, turning suddenly, or
driving in a legal manner but willfully failing to yield to an officer’s signal to stop.
314.1.2 PURSUIT OF MISDEMEANOR AND INFRACTION SUSPECTS
It is the policy of this department that absent unusual circumstances and supervisory approval,
officers shall not pursue misdemeanor suspects unless the misdemeanor involves a weapon,
violence or risk of serious harm (independent of the pursuit).
It is the policy of this department that officers shall not pursue infraction violations.
There may be the rare circumstance where the violator is willfully failing to yield to the authority of
the officer, yet still complying with rules of the road. This action meets the definition of a pursuit
in section 314.1.1. In this instance, officers may pursue violators who are not using high speed
driving or other evasive tactics at these legal speeds as long as they continue to follow the rules
Mountain View Police Department
Mountain View PD Policy Manual
Vehicle Pursuits
Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2021/04/07, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Mountain View Police
DepartmentVehicle Pursuits - 2of the road. The officer and supervisor must continuously weigh the seriousness of the offense
against the potential danger to the public.
If the violator begins using high speed driving or evasive tactics, then the violation must be a felony,
misdemeanor involving weapons or violence, or unusual circumstance with supervisor approval to
justify the pursuit with the increased risk associated with these driving tactics. As with any pursuit,
the officer and supervisor must continuously weigh the seriousness of the offense against the
potential danger to the public.
If a driver appears confused or unsure of what to do rather than willfully failing to yield to the officer,
then this is not a pursuit as defined in section 314.1.1.
314.2 OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES
It shall be the policy of this department that a vehicle pursuit shall be conducted only with red
light and siren as required by Vehicle Code § 21055 for exemption from compliance with the rules
of the road. The following policy is established to provide officers with guidelines for driving with
due regard and caution for the safety of all persons using the highway as required by Vehicle
Code § 21056.
314.2.1 WHEN TO INITIATE A PURSUIT
Officers are authorized to initiate a pursuit when it is reasonable to believe that a suspect is
attempting to evade arrest or detention by fleeing in a vehicle.
The following factors individually and collectively shall be considered in deciding whether to initiate
a pursuit:
(a)Seriousness of the known or reasonably suspected crime and its relationship to
community safety.
(b)The importance of protecting the public and balancing the known or reasonably
suspected offense and the apparent need for immediate capture against the risks to
officers, innocent motorists and others.
(c)Apparent nature of the fleeing suspects (e.g., whether the suspects represent a
serious threat to public safety).
(d)The identity of the suspects has been verified and there is comparatively minimal risk
in allowing the suspects to be apprehended at a later time.
(e)Safety of the public in the area of the pursuit, including the type of area, time of day,
the amount of vehicular and pedestrian traffic and the speed of the pursuit relative to
these factors.
(f)Pursuing officers familiarity with the area of the pursuit, the quality of radio
communications between the pursuing units and the dispatcher/supervisor and the
driving capabilities of the pursuing officers under the conditions of the