Policy Text
Page 1 of 13 – General Order 6 -6 (07/31/2024 )
VEHICLE PURSUIT PROCEDURE
RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT
GENERAL ORDER
Subject: VEHICLE PURSUIT PROCEDURE
Chapter
6 Number
6 Pages
13
References:
CALEA Standards: 41.2.2a -n, 41.2.3
VA State Code: § § 46.2-844, 46.2 -859, 46.2 -920, 46.2 -
1022, 46.2 -1023 Related Orders:
1-5, 2-6, 6-7, 7-10 and 7 -
24
Effective Date: 07/31/2024
Revised By: Annual Review
Prv. Rev. Date: 05/22/2023
Chief of Police :
If any provision of this General Order conflicts with any collective bargaining article, the collec tive bargaining
agreement shall gov ern.
I. PURPOSE
This dire ctive aims to establish the appropriate guidelines and procedures governing motor
vehicular pu rsuits.
II. SUMMARY OF CHANG E
The annual review was conducted on this policy . Where needed v erbiage was changed from
“may” to “shall ”. An IBR for Vehicle Pursuits / Elu ding Police have been added. All
changes w ill be bol d and italicized throughout the document.
III. POLICY
The Richmond Police Department has specific guide lines for the pursuit of motor vehicles . The
risks a ssociated w ith pursuits ma ndate that officers exercise sound judgment and discretion
throughout the pursuit . This General Order is intended to guide the decision -makin g process and
applies to all sworn personnel operating Department v ehicles equipped with lights and sirens;
vehicle s not equipped with these safety measures ARE NOT PERMITTED to engage in
vehicular pursuits.
This Pursuit Policy specifies when an officer an d/or a supervisor should initiate or terminate a
vehicle pursuit along with the responsibilities of the initiating officer, monitoring supervisor,
Communications Officer , and any other involved police vehicles. These guidelines are intended
to guide offic ers in safely and reasonably performing their duties. The re are exceptions to
specific traffic laws granted to pol ice officers engaged in emergency vehicle operations to assist
them in saving lives.
It is also a departmental policy that officers:
Page 2 of 13 – General Order 6 -6 (07/31/2024 )
VEHICLE PURSUIT PROCEDURE A. Will make every effort to ensure the safety of the public and Department me mbers at all
times and authorize emergency use o f police vehicles when the necessity of immediate
response or apprehen sion of offenders outweighs the level of inherent danger .
B. Will recogniz e the objective of a motor vehicle pursuit is to maintain police co ntact with a
fleeing driver, with out unnecessary endangerment to life and property, until the individual
can be appreh ended, if possible. Officers and the pursuit supervisor will continual ly
evaluate the nature of the pursuit with respect to its danger an d, whenever necessary, make
the d ecision to term inate the pursuit.
C. Only become actively involved in a regional pursuit that enters this jurisdiction if the
factors that lead the outside age ncy to initiate the pursuit meet the criteria set forth by this
General Order. For pursuits that en ter this jurisd iction that do es not me et these criteria ,
Richmond Officers will parti cipate in a support capacity .
D. Will have documented initial training on the Vehicle Pursuit Procedures policy .
[CALEA 41.2.2m]
IV. ACCOUNTABILI TY STATEMENT
All employees are expected to fully comply with the guidelines and timel ines set forth in this
General Order . Responsibility rests with the Div ision Commander to ensure that any
violations of policy are investi gated, and appropriate training, counseling and/or disciplinary
action is initiated.
This dir ective is for internal us e only and does not enlarge an employee’s civil liability in any
way. It should not be construed as creat ing a higher safety standard or case in an evidentiary
sense conc erning third -party claims. Violation of this directive, if proven, can only form the
basis of a complaint by this Department and then only in a non -judicia l administrative setting.
V. DEFINITIONS
A. PURSUIT – An active attem pt by a law enforcement officer in a police vehicle equipped
with a siren and emergency lights to apprehend the occupants of another moving vehicle
who are aware of the attempt but resisting ap prehension by increasing speed or clearly
taking evasive measures . Continuing the pursuit requires j ustification ba sed on the
potential threat to public safety and the officer ’s persona l safety , and/or the seriousness of
the criminal activity.
B. PURSUIT SUPE RVISOR – Upon initiating a pursuit, a supervisor will be acknowledg ed
by radio and designated as the pursuit superv isor. However, if that supervisor is the
operator of a primary, suppo rt, or backup unit that is involved in a pursuit, they shall not
act as the pursuit supervisor . If available, t he next immediate ranking su pervisor in that
Precinct , shall serve as the p ursuit supervisor for the duration of the pursuit. The
Department of E mergency Communications ( DEC ) shall terminate the pursuit if these
efforts to contact