By Police1 Staff
WASHINGTON — Police in major metropolitan hubs are revising their use-of-force policies regarding shooting at moving vehicles in wake of recent attacks.
The Washington Post reports that police in Washington, New York City, Chicago and Las Vegas are loosening policies to allow officers to fire at moving vehicles to stop vehicular attacks. The revision comes in response to recent vehicular attacks, such as the one in Toronto that left 10 dead last month.
“We have to balance the threat to the community with the idea we don’t want to use fatal force unless we absolutely have to,” D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said. “It’s really important to make sure officers completely understand this is a special circumstance, a last resort, but one that may be necessary.”
Concerns in tactics remain, but authorities said that in extreme circumstances, trying to shoot the driver of a vehicular attack may be the only way to save lives. Many law enforcement officials and experts believe that new rules regarding shooting at moving vehicles should be tailored as narrowly as possible.
In September, Las Vegas revised its policies and now allows officers to shoot at moving vehicles if it’s “absolutely necessary to preserve human life.” In New York City, officers can now shoot at moving vehicles only “to terminate a mass casualty terrorist event.”
Newsham said the new revisions in D.C. are meant for only large-scale “ramming attacks.” Under the department’s UOF directive, ramming attacks are defined as one “in which a perpetrator deliberately rams, or attempts to ram, a motor vehicle at a crowd of people with the intent to inflict fatal injuries.”
The chief added that the rules still inform officers that, in most cases, vehicles alone can’t be considered a weapon and that officers should “avoid tactics that could place them in a position where a vehicle could be used against them.”
Police nationwide have stressed that they have already taken steps to prevent ramming attacks at high-profile events. During President Donald Trump’s inauguration, for example, concrete barriers were erected and large trucks were used as blockades.
J. Thomas Manger, president of the Major City Chiefs Association, said that if preventative measures fail, and an officer happens to be there during an attack, shooting at a moving vehicle may be “the only tactic that’s available.” Manager added that police leaders “want to make sure we’re not putting police officers at a disadvantage or restricting them from doing what needs to be done.”