By Police1 Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — After a decision in 2014 to not pursue some fleeing drivers, the Kansas City Police Department is changing its stance.
A new initiative, “Project Act: Addressing Crime Together,” allows police to pursue all drivers who flee traffic stops, with probable cause, KCTV5 reported. Initially, officers could only pursue fleeing drivers if they had committed a serious felony.
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Two people died in two separate crashes over the span of two months in 2014, which led to the no-pursuit policy. Police Chief Terry Zeigler said fleeing criminals are the ones to blame, not police.
“We’re going in the wrong direction and it’s time for us to change that,” Zeigler said. “[Crime rates have] been on a sky rocket trajectory since 2012.”
The project will focus specifically on a high-crime area where the most homicides and drive-by shootings occur, KCTV5 reported.
The initiative begins June 1.