205 VEHICLE PURSUITS

POLICY 205 Vehicle Pursuits ESTABLISHED: MAY 2019 BY CHIEF DAVID MAGNUSSON RELATED POLICIES: Reviewed by Chief David Magnusson 5/2019 A. PURPOSE: The purpose of this Policy is to establish procedures to be used by the Village of El Portal Police Department (EPPD)Police officers involved in vehicle pursuit situations. This Policy is for internal use by the EPPD , does not create a new or higher standard of care with regard to third-party claims, and violations of this policy may be used only for disciplinary purposes by the EPPD. B.POLICY: It is the policy of this Department that all police vehicle operations must be conducted with due regard for the safety of persons and property and in accordance with the Florida State Statutes In the event of any conflict or ambiguity between this Policy and the Florida State Statutes, the Statutes will control. The overriding aim of this policy is to safeguard the citizenry and the police officers of the Village of El Portal Police Department. C. DEFINITIONS: For the purposes of this directive, the following definitions will apply: A.Pursuit -- an officer’s operation of an emergency vehicle, with lights and siren activated, so as to remain in sight or near proximity of a vehicle when the operator of that vehicle is resisting apprehension by maintaining or increasing vehicle speed and/or by driving in an attempt to elude the pursuing officer. B.Initiating officer -- the officer who is attempting to stop or approach a suspect vehicle when the vehicle operator begins attempting to elude the officer. C.Primary officer -- the pursuing officer in the nearest position behind the pursued vehicle. D.Assisting officer -- any officer in addition to the initiating officer who becomes directly involved in a vehicle pursuit. E.Assigned supervisor -- the supervisor establishing incident command to monitor and direct a vehicle pursuit. F.Reviewing supervisor -- the supervisor who reviews vehicle pursuit operations and who forwards pursuit-related documentation through the chain of command: the assigned supervisor may also serve as the reviewing supervisor if he was not directly involved in the pursuit. G.Directly involved -- officers are directly involved in a vehicle pursuit when they: 1.have the pursued vehicle in sight, and are attempting to remain in sight of or apprehend the pursued vehicle, or 2.have any other directly involved police vehicle in sight, and are attempting to remain in near proximity to that vehicle. D. PROCEDURE (Pursuit Operations) 1. The decision to initiate pursuit must be based on the pursuing officer's conclusion that the immediate or likely danger to the officer and the public created by the pursuit is less than the immediate or likely danger to the public if the suspect remains at large. For example, an officer may engage in the pursuit of a suspect who is believed to have committed a violent crime such as the felony of murder, kidnapping, rape, felonious assault, armed robbery with violence, hostage taking, assault inflicting serious injury, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, or assault by pointing a gun if the suspect presents an immediate or likely threat to the safety of the public if not apprehended. A decision to discontinue or not initiate a pursuit that is made in accordance with this policy will not result in disciplinary action against the officer or supervisor involved in the decision. Ridicule by any EPPD employee of the officer or supervisor involved in such decision is strictly prohibited. 2. Only those officers in an authorized emergency vehicle who have completed the requisite field training may consider initiating a vehicular pursuit after the suspect exhibits the intention to avoid apprehension by refusing to stop when properly directed to do so and the suspect is an immediate or likely danger to the public. (Note: In the event that a field training officer is incapacitated by way of a violent persons crime, and the offender(s) is/are fleeing, and the officer being trained had not yet fully completed the requisite field training, he/she, out of a genuine concern that the offender(s) pose an immediate of likely threat to the safety of the public if not apprehended, may pursue .) 3. EPPD does not authorize any officer to initiate a pursuit as a result of a violation of any Florida State Statute Traffic Laws unless the officer observes serious and dangerous aggravating factors such as when a person is operating the vehicle in a manner so as to endanger the safety of others (for example, forcing other motorists off the roadway, hit and run accidents with serious injury as determined by the obvious and visible damage to the “victim” vehicle. Violation of the speed limit (or other non-violent traffic violations) or commission of non- violent crimes will not justify initiating a pursuit. 4. Motorcycle pursuits are especially dangerous and require the exercise of extreme caution. An officer must not engage in the pursuit of a motorcycle unless the officer is reasonably certain that pursuit will not endanger the public, and, the use of deadly force is justified, and the most serious aggravating factors (for example, murder, kidnapping, etc.) are involved. Page 2 of 7 NOTE: Should an officer engage in a pursuit, the following factors, as applicable to the circumstances, must be considered in making the decision to initiate or continue a pursuit: 1.the nature and the seriousness of the offense(s) committed by the vehicle occupants, 2.availability of other means of apprehension (such as later obtaining and serving warrants on an identified vehicle occupant), 3.road conditions, 4