The Chattanooga Times Free Press
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- Chattanooga’s new police chief has reversed a ban on high-speed pursuits, meaning drunken drivers and anyone suspected of committing a felony can’t elude capture anymore by trying to outrun police.
Former Police Chief Jimmie Dotson instituted the ban in July, citing public safety. It topped a list of topics reviewed in recent weeks by the new police administration led by Chief Steve Parks.
Parks, a former deputy chief under Dotson, took over in February.
“It (the new policy) is a bit more restrictive than the old policy before all pursuits were banned,” Parks said. “We just felt there are some cases where officers must have the ability to pursue due to the serious nature of the offense.”
In the previous policy, police could pursue anyone suspected of a crime, whether it was a felony offense or a misdemeanor. The new policy that begins Monday allows police to pursue only someone they believe has committed a felony, is committing a felony or likely will commit a felony, records show.
Anyone suspected of drunken driving also can be pursued.
“The new policy puts us back on a level playing field,” said department spokesman Sgt. Tom Layne. “We are glad to see it (pursuit discretion) come back. And safety will continue to be a priority.”
No one has been killed as a result of a police chase by Chattanooga authorities in at least two decades. Since November 1997, two people did die in traffic accidents involving police, but they were not involved in pursuing suspects.
In the year before the pursuit policy was suspended, Chattanooga officers filed 42 felony charges and 41 misdemeanor charges against suspects involved in pursuits, department records show. Those pursuits ranged from a quarter of a mile to 20 miles in length and from 40 to 90 mph.
In fiscal 2003, Chattanooga police logged 22 vehicle pursuits compared to Knoxville’s 133. In the 22 in Chattanooga, seven suspects crashed their vehicles and three officers wrecked their cars, records show. No injuries were reported.
Dotson’s decision to halt high-speed chases did not stop other law enforcement agencies in Hamilton County from chasing suspects. In October, officers from a half-dozen police departments pursued two Walker County, Ga., residents through two states, ending in downtown Chattanooga.
Dotson said his decision saved the city money. It cost the city $203,602 to repair 90 police vehicles in fiscal 2003, including those damaged in police pursuits, records show. City officials said that since pursuits were stopped, the cost to maintain the police fleet has dropped significantly, but the actual dollar amounts were not available.
Other procedural changes also have been made by Chattanooga police, from tearing down walls inside the administrative offices to increased field training, Park said.
Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker said he supports the new policies.
“Our police officers can now do the things they were hired to do,” he said. “I think the citizens will see that.”
Other law enforcement agencies in Tennessee have pursuit policies of varying degrees.
Nashville police in March revised its chase policy, requiring officers to receive permission from supervisors before pursuing suspected criminals, officials said. A fatal January chase in Nashville spurred the administration’s decision.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department allows deputies to pursue criminals as long as the suspect is posing or could pose a danger to citizens, said Capt. J. David Hamby.
Other police departments in smaller cities such as Red Bank, East Ridge, Soddy-Daisy and Collegedale have similar pursuit policies, records show.
Police in other major cities in Tennessee, including Knoxville and Memphis, continue to pursue suspects, representatives from those departments said.