YPD records more pursuits in 2015 than year before

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.;com

YOUNGSTOWN

City police recorded more vehicle pursuits in 2015 than in 2014.

Chief Robin Lees and Staff Inspector Lt. Brian Butler both said they are unsure yet about any reasons for the increase, but they will be studying the statistics closely over the next couple of weeks to see the reason for the spike.

In 2014, city police chased 44 vehicles while in 2015, the number jumped to 67.

Lees said he wants to find out if the number of pursuits has increased because officers are becoming more proactive and making more traffic stops; and the results of the chases, such as whether guns or drugs were found or a high felony arrest was made.

Butler said one reason for more pursuits may be that more officers are on the road. He said the department added 17 new officers in 2015 to offset a wave of retirements.

A detailed breakdown of the chases in 2015 is not yet available, but Butler noted that in 2014, supervisors called off 43 percent of the department’s chases because conditions were not favorable to continue. Butler said that shows him the supervisors are paying attention.

The department has revamped its policies on chases in the last couple of years, first under former Chief Rod Foley and now under Lees, because of other high-profile chases across the country and especially in Cleveland, where a couple was killed in a hail of bullets in 2012 after a long chase involving more than 100 officers and some 60 police vehicles.

Because of the Cleveland chase, Butler said one of the updates to the chase policy mandates that the patrol supervisor for that shift be in charge of monitoring all pursuits and deciding whether to terminate, even if the officers are from another division in the department, such as the vice squad or the traffic bureau or detectives.

Butler said that in the Cleveland case, too many officers thought their supervisors would intervene and none did, so it was decided to have the patrol supervisor in charge monitor all pursuits to have someone accountable who can make a decision.

Under the policy, officers can pursue a vehicle if they think the driver or occupants are wanted on a felony; a vehicle has been stolen; or the driver has committed a misdemeanor that was witnessed by the officer.

Factors to engage in a chase include the seriousness of the offense, traffic, road and weather conditions, the safety of others or the chance to arrest the person at a later date. The officer must notify the 911 center immediately if a chase begins and give the location and speed and frequently update those. Another cruiser then will be assigned to follow the first cruiser and will take over calling out the location and speeds of the pursuit. That second car will be assigned by the supervisor for that particular beat.

Officers also are to stay in their assigned beats if they hear a chase on the air that is not on their beat.

Officers also fill out a report at the conclusion of any chase. Butler said the reports are used to see if there are any trends that can be detected and if there are, officers will be offered training to deal with those issues.