P1 First Person: Officers killed in motor vehicle crashes

By Chief (Ret.) Ronald W. McBride
IACP/DuPont Kevlar Survivors’ Club

Officers killed in motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). These are tragic deaths most of which are classified as non-criminal — accidental. My very first municipal judge was John A. Newcomb, truly from the old school. I heard him respond repeatedly when the word ‘accident’ was used in his court room: “Webster defines accident as an act of God and I haven’t seen God driving a car.” Police officers should not be dying in MVCs at a rate equal to or greater than the general population. Claims about the type of driving and miles driven by an officer is frequently offered as reason that police officers are injured or killed in motor vehicle crashes (MVC).

I accept that this type of driving has limited validity. However, this is yet one more example where the police industry is accepting of line-of-duty injuries and deaths. Police officers know the threats posed by both non-emergency and emergency vehicle operations (EVO), they should be fully trained and retrained in all aspects of driving, able and willing to practice exceptional defensive driving skills. For reason that escapes me this does not appear to be reality. What can a police officer possibly be thinking about if he/she places a police vehicle in motion without first clicking the seatbelt?

It is highly probable that driver inattention is a major factor in police related highway fatalities. Police officers have all of the distractions of the general motoring public plus the unique electronic devices installed in the cockpit of police vehicles. Officers have the added risk of driving a vehicle while being vigilant for matters that may require their immediate intervention. Compare this last factor to an EMS unit or fire rig responding to a call. These practitioners are engaged in EVO but with rare exception function as a crew thus more eyes and ears to spot hazards. They are more often than not operating a larger and better illuminated vehicle with much louder warning devices than found on most police vehicles.

Often EMS or fire crew leaders are willing to order slowdown if risks become too great. Most cops operate solo thus no second opinion on reacting to observed dangers. Mission fixation can lead to bad decision making by a solo police officer or officers. It would be rare for an EMS or fire crew to have their attention bifurcated whereas a cop is responding to an incident that others may be fleeing. Only the cop is singularly tasked and expected to process the meaning and importance of incoming data-streams or spot outbound lead information such as a fleeing suspect. Big Differences!

By one estimate, as high as 40 percent of police officers routinely do not wear an occupant restraint when operating a police vehicle. Interestingly enough the percentage of officers not using seatbelts is comparable to the percentage of officers that do not routinely wear body armor. I must wonder if this represents the same 40 percent of the police population?

The frequency of police officers being battered appears to be on the rise. I cannot say that with absolute certainty given the lag time between collection of UCR LEOKA data, analysis, and publication date. I did see an article about the increased number of Chicago police officers being assaulted. I often hear or read anecdotal reports of increased number of officers being assaulted. The article about CPD and the frequency of informal reports of increased number of cops being hurt on the job lends credence to my suspicion that the number of battered cops is on the rise. It is reported that Chicago has reached a 25 year high in the number of cops killed this year to date vs. their annual body count of dead cops over the past quarter of century. This should be an eye-opener for all...

Dead is dead — whether it be by a pistol shot or a patrol vehicle hitting a telephone pole. Law enforcement executives must be concerned about all threats. I suspect we will see a downturn in MVC related deaths as we witness a continuing surge in the number of cops injured or killed as the result of criminal assaults. Why? The police industry MVC problem is definable and more easily fixable as compared to societal trends involving gang members and criminals that have no respect for the law and not hesitant to attack the police. Cops used to be almost exclusively secondary victims but it appears to me that more cops are with increased frequency the primary object of violence.

We all must use care when talking about police deaths for a body bag tells only a fraction of the story. The rest of the story is told by the number of gurneys loaded into the back of EMS buggies carrying injured police officers to an ER or trauma center. Speaking of emergency medical care many do not understand how upgrades in field and hospital-based EMS have reduced fatalities but the injuries remain. Nobody knows the number of cops injured annually or what these numbers mean downstream.

This giant hole in the data is a cause for less than optimal decision making about officer safety. Far too many politicos are counting the number of dead cops and declaring victory — fewer dead cops, less danger, cut the staffing levels. There are self proclaimed experts suggesting that the police officer’s world is becoming less dangerous. I do not claim expert status on this or any other topic. However the evidence to me indicates that the cop’s world is becoming more dangerous.

The only police association truly committed to reducing police disabilities and deaths is the IACP. A few police organization may offer lip service but IACP has two programs that have great potential to cause positive outcomes — SafeShield and The Center for Prevention of Violence Against Police Officers.

RWM