by Jeffry Scott, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
Drivers of stolen cars, minor traffic violators and suspected drunks behind the wheel will no longer be chased at high speed by Atlanta police.
The change in pursuit policy was made formal Friday by Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington who cited recent “unfortunate” accidents as one reason for the change.
“Atlanta has too much traffic to be chasing people at 50, 60 and 70 miles an hour for minor offenses,” said Pennington during an afternoon news conference at City Hall East. Since March, four people have died in metro Atlanta as a result of high-speed police chases in which the pursued vehicle slammed into their cars. A fifth person was killed while driving a vehicle being chased by police.
Of the five fatal chases, only one --- following a March 31 robbery in Fayette County --- started after a serious crime. Only one of the chases was in the city of Atlanta.
Lovette Strozier, 49, of Atlanta, was killed Oct. 26 when his car was struck by a stolen Nissan Altima police say ran a stop sign.
Pennington said that with the new policy, Atlanta police will engage in a high speed chase only if the suspect possesses a deadly weapon, poses a threat of violence to others, or has committed a crime where serious physical harm was inflicted or threatened.
He said he would meet with law enforcement officials from other metro jurisdictions over the next few weeks to encourage them to adopt a uniform chase policy.
Metro police agencies agreed to a police pursuit pact in 1989, but Pennington has not yet approached them to sign the new agreement. He said he anticipates no problem, however.
Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Quigley said the new guidelines would not affect law enforcement from other jurisdictions entering Atlanta in hot pursuit of a vehicle.
Pennington said when pursuing suspected drunken drivers, police would not exceed the speed limit. Instead they would use other methods, such as radioing other squad cars ahead, to pull the driver over.
He said he made the change in policy public, rather than change it quietly, in response to a rising community concern over police chases.