Recent Delaware police chases put scrutiny on pursuit policies

When asked what recommendations he would offer Delaware State Police after reviewing their written vehicle pursuit policy, a leading criminologist answered plainly: "a total revision."

"It's old-fashioned," said Geoffrey Alpert, a national expert on police pursuits and use of force who served as a monitor in a federal consent decree reshaping the New Orleans Police Department. "I haven't seen one like that in a long time."

While some questions have been raised after a couple of recent incidents, state police reject any characterizations that its pursuit policy is outdated.

"We have to continually and constantly evaluate the risk to the safety for the public and the trooper versus the need to immediately apprehend," said Delaware State Police spokesman Sgt. Richard Bratz. "While any fleeing felon has no right to a leisurely escape, his or her apprehension has to be constantly weighed against the likelihood of serious injury or death to the trooper or anyone else."

Alpert said DSP's policy doesn't explicitly limit a trooper's freedom to start a chase unless the need to capture a fleeing suspect immediately could cause people further harm, such as in the case of an escaping murder suspect.

Instead, he said, the written DSP policy offers vague latitude to start a chase with non-violent suspects, bucking an increasingly restrictive national trend in law enforcement practice.

In recent years, police departments across the country have revised their pursuit policies after some high-speed chases ended in tragedy. Those changes most often leaned toward eliminating chases in all but the most dangerous cases.

"Many of them are restricted to violent crimes only," said Alpert, who's served as a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Research Advisory Council. 

Experts say the officers and departments must weigh the benefits and risks of letting a suspect get away and the potential harm of a chase.

In most cases, experts argue, it is safer to let a suspect escape. Yet, police have complained that these overly strict policies make enforcing the law harder.

The written DSP policy gives troopers latitude to initiate a chase for misdemeanors and non-violent offenses, according to a review of the policy obtained by The News Journal.

In Delaware, troopers decide to initiate pursuits, but then must check in with a supervisor who determines whether to continue pursuing or break off.

The model policy from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, used as a standard for many agencies across the country, does not allow that latitude.

The DSP policy warns of the dangers of pursuits, but DSP reports have cited minor offenses such as broken headlights and non-violent causes such as stolen vehicles as the impetus for pursuits. What is not in all of those reports, though, are details about the pursuit, such as the length of the chase, what supervisors said to do and the speed involved. 

It is those details, kept out of public view until presented in a courtroom, that define any chase's merits, a DSP spokesman said.

"Delaware State Police is confident in our pursuit policy and the authority vested in our supervisors," Bratz said. "Delaware State Police continually strive to enhance the quality of life through best practices and continuous training to protect life and property." 

Concern about the DSP procedures was raised after the June 23 death of a burglary suspect on a bicycle who collided with a trooper pursuing him in a marked vehicle. State police have released few details about how the crash happened. 

"The whole momentum right across North America is to make pursuits more restrictive because they're inherently dangerous," said Gareth Jones, once a sergeant in London and now an expert witness on police pursuits in North America. "There's more of a realization that it is just not worth it except in the most egregious of circumstances." 

At least 11,500 people were killed in police car chases from 1979 through 2013, according to a 2015 USA Today analysis. That includes more than 5,000 bystanders and passengers and about 6,300 fleeing suspects.

Settlement reached over 2013 fatal motorcycle police chase

The civil case of a bystander killed in a 2014 crash involving a pursuing DSP trooper ended in February when a jury sided with the defendants in the case, awarding no damages to Smith's family. The fatal June 23 chase that resulted in the death of Richard Talbot is under investigation, state police said.

Talbot was a 32-year-old father and tattoo artist with a history of burglary pleas and, according to a letter from his family, drug abuse. In that letter, his family described his life as a troubled one bespeckled with personal joys, which kept him afloat.

"He battled his addiction right along with his demons, trying hard to escape them all," the emailed letter read. "He loved fishing, it was his other passion besides his child and his art. It was on the water he felt calm and peaceful. Please understand, we do not want Richie Talbot to be remembered as a suspect fleeing police, he was so much more."

Family: Man fatally hit by trooper was father, tattoo artist

He was on a bicycle around 12:30 p.m. on Fisher Road south of Milton when a Troop 7 officer noticed Talbot matched the description of a burglary suspect. The trooper turned on his lights and initiated a pursuit, police said.

The details of the chase have not been made public as DSP investigates, but there was a fatal collision between the trooper's Chevy Tahoe and Talbot's bicycle.

"The suspect ignored numerous verbal commands and continued to flee," read a DSP news release. "As the pursuit of the suspect continued, the two vehicles were involved in a collision."

Police said stolen electronics were recovered from Talbot after the crash. The trooper involved in that crash has been placed on leave, a standard procedure. 

"In past cases, and even in this case, it's unfortunate for everyone involved," Bratz said. "For a trooper engaged in or about to become engaged in a pursuit, a decision must be made to continue or discontinue the pursuit. The Delaware State Police vehicle pursuit policy is designed to assist the individual trooper in determining when it is reasonable to undertake those substantial risks and, for safety purposes, when it is best to continue."

Experts interviewed for this story agreed that chasing a suspect on a bicycle is a unique case.

A more typical high-speed chase took place on Interstate 95 just days before.

A Delaware River and Bay Authority police officer, on June 20 around 10 a.m., attempted to stop a driver on I-295 for aggressive driving and other moving violations, according to a police spokesman. A chase, which soon involved a DSP trooper, began on I-95 and reached speeds of 100-120 mph, according to police reports.

The fleeing motorist left the interstate onto Del. 896 headed toward Maryland, and pursuing DRBA police and the DSP trooper broke off the chase. A DRBA spokesman said the pursuit was too dangerous to continue once it reached a residential zone.

No one was hurt and the driver got away. 

A stricter policy in that case might have kept DRBA and DSP from giving pursuit at all.

Policies should guide officers

Just letting bad guys go may be anathema to officers, but that is why policy must provide firm guidelines, according to Louis Dekmar, IACP president and chief of police of the LaGrange, Georgia, Police Department.

"The natural inclination of a police officer is to catch someone who has violated the law. But we know through studies, policy and analysis of pursuits that most folks that run from the police are not involved in dangerous felonies, and that anywhere between 10-25 percent result in an accident," Dekmar said. 

Dekmar said the majority of police pursuits last less than one minute and continue for less than one mile, a circumstance which often precludes supervisors from weighing in.

He said officers are better equipped when their checklist for pursuits is short and firm.

"Policy is ultimately going to guide the response of the officer," Dekmar said. "Pursuits begin and end very quickly, and so do the consequences of pursuits." 

Bratz said the policy which guides Delaware state troopers is backed up by one guiding supervisors. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security provided The News Journal with the troopers' policy but not the supervisors' policy because, Bratz said, operational security measures could be harmed through its publication.

He said the troopers' policy, reviewed every year and reinforced throughout troopers' training and career, advises them to take into account factors such as road conditions, time of day, surrounding traffic and public safety.

Under DSP policy, Bratz said, troopers make the first choice in whether to pursue, but he emphasized those mitigating factors also give them the choice to end it.

Alpert said all those factors are exactly why progressive departments take the choice away from officers and put it on the command staff and supervisors. 

"It forces the officer to make a series of decisions in the heat of a chase," Alpert said of policies like the one DSP troopers follow. "While the officer is trying to drive well and keep an eye on the suspect, his or her mind has to go through this variety of factors to make the decision. It is complicated."

Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department Maj. Travis Yates is a trainer with SAFETAC, which aims to reduce line-of-duty deaths and injuries among first responders. He is adamant about strict police pursuit policies, though he didn't always see it that way. 

"If you had talked to me 20 years ago, I would have said we have to chase everybody. But that has certainly changed, and I think that has come from, unfortunately, tragedies, and, unfortunately, from lessons learned," Yates said.   

Not every police administrator agrees overly strict pursuit policies are best.

Milwaukee officials: Police will chase suspects

Milwaukee Police Department Officer Charles Irvine Jr. died June 7 after his squad car crashed during the pursuit of a reckless driver. His partner and the squad car's driver, Officer Matthew Schulze, was injured in the rollover crash. 

In the mind of Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales, the person who fled, not the policy, is the problem.

"We’re going to chase you," Morales said at a June 25 press conference. 

That department's policy underwent a major overhaul after police pursuits there killed four bystanders in a three-month span in 2010. Some of those strict limitations have since been rolled back after suspects began to take advantage of it.

“I thought you guys couldn’t pursue vehicles unless it was a felony,” the suspect in the fatal police chase told detectives after his arrest, according to the criminal complaint. 

A commission with oversight over the Milwaukee Police Department stands by the importance of officers having the freedom to think and act on their own. 

"I'm sorry that it ended tragically but that is what the job is, and we give officers the ability to use their judgment," Fire and Police Commission Chairman Steven DeVougas said after the fatal police pursuit. "Sometimes people get hurt and sometimes the bad guy doesn't get caught. We have to let the officers make those calls."

Information about Milwaukee police was written by Ashley Luthern of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Contact Adam Duvernay at (302) 319-1855 or aduvernay@delawareonline.com

Recent Delaware State Police pursuits

• On May 4, a trooper spotted a stolen Cadillac near Seaford, activated emergency sirens and, when the driver didn't stop, engaged in a vehicle pursuit. The Cadillac collided into a stop sign, ending the chase. The driver, 21-year-old Mikeyah Brewer, was charged for drug paraphernalia found in the car after the chase, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving and multiple traffic offenses. 
• On March 24, a trooper in Bridgeville tried to pull over 40-year-old Christopher Albury for a busted headlight, but Albury accelerated and a pursuit began. It didn't end until police deployed tire deflation devices, though Albury then fled on foot. Police said further investigation determined Albury was drunk. He was charged with DUI, failing to stop on command, resisting arrest and traffic offenses. 
• On Nov. 4, state police troopers tried to stop 32-year-old Seaford resident Donshell Weston in Bridgeville. No reason was given for the attempted stop in the DSP news release. Weston fled, leading troopers on a vehicle pursuit that ended when Weston crashed into a utility pole at Fisherman’s Bridge. Weston escaped on foot. Weston was wanted after the pursuit for drug possession, disregarding a police officer's signal and traffic charges. He's since been arrested.

Pursuit policies

Louis Dekmar, president of the International Association of Police Chiefs and chief of police LaGrange, Georgia, said the IACP model should be used as a baseline.

"It's a decent policy, but it's by far not the best policy," said Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Maj. Travis Yates, who is also a police trainer. "If you're not at least meeting that guideline, you're probably behind."

Bratz said revisions to DSP's policy include guidance from groups like IACP plus any court decisions and state law changes.

"We feel, as an agency, the Delaware State Police pursuit policy is consistent with the IACP model policy guidelines," Bratz said. 

The DSP policy offers troopers greater freedom in making the decision to chase and it first tells troopers to consider the seriousness of the offense.

DSP policy states pursuits for traffic violations are unnecessary. Troopers need only position themselves to get a vehicle description and its plate numbers, the policy states.

The DSP policy puts pursuits starting with suspicions of DUI, misdemeanors and non-violent felonies at the discretion first of the trooper then the on-duty supervisor, who after being informed a pursuit has begun decides if it will be continued or abandoned. 

The DSP policy give more latitude for chases with felonies involving serious injury or death. This section of the policy offers a variety of limiting factors troopers are advised to consider, though, including risk of a pursuit and seriousness of the crime.

The final portion of the DSP policy presented to The News Journal was redacted.

"Historically, most high-speed pursuits are the result of minor traffic violations," the DSP policy reads. "The injuries and property damage that often occurs is frequently disproportionate to the state interest sought to be protected."

Bratz said pursuits for simple traffic violations do not meet policy by themselves, but weighing additional safety factors and supervisor oversight might change the decision.

The answer for giving chase, he said, is more complex than yes or no. 

The guts of the DSP policy, according to Alpert's review, are based in the balance equation of possible harm versus potential good any police chase should calculate.

"It does have language in there that chases are dangerous and that you have to be careful, but the training they get and the accountability they're held to will determine whether they err on the side of caution or chase until the wheels fall off," Alpert said. 

Adam Duvernay

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