Policy Text
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
1 01/24/2011 01/01/2025
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
___________________ ______
314 - Vehicle Pursuit Policy 1 POLICY 314 VEHICLE PURSUIT S
314.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Vehicle p ursuits expose innocent citizens , law enforcement officers and fleeing violators to
serious injury or death. The primary purpose of this policy is to provide officers 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 minimize the potential for pursuit related
accidents. Vehicular pursuits require officers to exhibit a h igh 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 innocent motorists , pedestrians and police
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 include s circumstances
where department policy would permit the initiation or continuation of the pursuit. It is recognized
that vehicular pursuit situations 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. Officers’ conduct during the course of
a pursuit must be objecti vely reasonable; that is, what a reasonable officer would do under the
circumstances. An unreasonable individual’s desire to apprehend a fleeing suspect a t 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 office r’s signal to stop.
314.1.2 ACCREDITATION STANDARDS
This policy pertains to the following CALEA Standards: 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.3.6, 41.2.2 , 41.2.3
314.2 OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES
It shall be the policy of this department that a motor vehicle pursuit shall be conducted 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.
CATEGORY DATE ADOPTED LAST REVIEW
1 01/24/2011 01/01/2025
TUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS
___________________ ______
314 - Vehicle Pursuit Policy 2 314.2.1 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 risk to officers, innocent
motorists and others ;
c) Apparent nature of the fleeing suspect(s) (e.g., whether the suspect(s) represent a serious
threat to public safety) ;
d) The identity of the suspect(s) has been verified and there is comparatively minimal risk in
allowing the suspect(s) 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 officer(s) 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 pursuit ;
g) Weather, traffic and road conditions that substantially increase the danger of the pursuit
beyond the worth of apprehending the suspect ;
h) Performance capabilities of the vehicles used in the pursuit in relation to the speeds and
other conditions of the pursuit ;
i) Vehicle speeds ;
j) Other person (s) in or on the pursued vehicle (e.g., passengers, co -offenders and
hostages) ;
k) Availability of other resources such as helicopter assistance ;
l) The police unit is carrying passengers other than p olice officers , such as prisoners, ride
alongs, volunteers, etc.
314.2.2 WHEN TO TERMINATE A PURSUIT
Pursuits should be discontinued whenever the totality of objective circumstances known , or which
reasonably ought to be known , to the officer or supervisor during the pursuit indicates that the
present risks of continuing the pursuit reasonably appear to outweigh the risk s resulting from the
suspect(s