Joe Kafka, The Associated Press | Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:00 pm
|
PIERRE - Nearly three-fourths of South Dakota police
departments responding to an attorney general's survey last year
had written policies on high-speed pursuits, and just six of those
55 departments discourage all such chases.
Twenty-one departments restrict vehicle pursuits based on
speeds and the nature of the offenses; 28 departments leave the
final decision up to individual officers or their superiors.
A high-speed chase Thursday resulted in the death of a
Mitchell man and his two children. A Hanson County deputy sheriff
began the chase after receiving a report that Lyle E. Doering had
abducted his children from a relative's home in Ethan.
Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said Friday that his
deputies are closely regulated when it comes to high-speed chases.
A lengthy written policy that provides officers some discretion
must be followed, he said.
"When operating an emergency vehicle in pursuit, the deputy
shall weigh the risks of the pursuit with the nature of the
offense," Milstead said. "When the risks of high-speed pursuit
outweigh the significance of apprehension, the pursuit will be
ended."
When a deputy begins a chase, a supervisor is immediately
notified and closely monitors the situation, the sheriff said.
Pursuit may be called off if the person being chased has been
identified and can be arrested later, Milstead said.
Also to be considered is the seriousness of the crime, he
said. Safety is always a factor, Milstead said.
"You must consider if there's a clear and unreasonable hazard
to the deputy, the violator or the public," he said, adding that a
supervisor can cancel a pursuit at any time.
Maj. Jim Carpenter, assistant director of the Highway Patrol,
said circumstances of each pursuit are different and troopers are
carefully regulated during chases. When a chase becomes too
dangerous, it is called off, he said.
"Each one is handled individually, depending on the
circumstances that initiated it and how serious it gets as it
goes," Carpenter said.
"Our officers have a lot of discretion, but every one of them
is monitored by a supervisor, and the supervisor weighs the reasons
for the stop or the attempted stop over the safety of everybody
involved and makes a decision whether to continue or stop
it."
