INDEPENDENCE, MO – The executive director of a police accountability nonprofit is calling for high-speed pursuits to be heavily restricted in the wake of a police pursuit that occurred in Independence on New Year’s Eve that culminated in an innocent bystander being killed in a collision with the suspect vehicle.
On December 31st, the Independence Police Department initiated a pursuit of a suspect vehicle for various undisclosed traffic violations that reportedly made its way into Kansas, Missouri, before the pursuit turned fatal. Officials say the vehicle being driven by the suspect was later determined to be stolen, which the unidentified driver crashed into several vehicles while attempting to elude authorities.
One of the vehicles the suspect reportedly crashed into killed one occupant, identified as 47-year-old Daniel Perez Sanchez, and left two other occupants inside the vehicle critically injured. Independence Police Officer Bryan Conley noted that pursuits, even for minor offenses, are somewhat standard for the department due to the underlying concerns as to why a suspect is fleeing over mere traffic violations.
“We chase for minor traffic violations because when people run, it's usually because they have more serious offenses,” Officer Conley said in a statement regarding the incident, further noting that the tragic outcome of the pursuit is “100% the suspect’s fault.” The driver of the stolen vehicle remains at large, according to officials.
Lauren Bonds, who serves as the executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, which is a nonprofit dedicated to “ending law enforcement overreach and abuse of power,” says that incidents like these are evidence as to why police pursuits need to be more limited.
“I think it's incredibly important that officers restrict the situations in which they engage in these pursuits,” Bonds stated, adding, “just because they’re so dangerous.”
Public scrutiny toward police pursuit policies is hardly a novel concept, as Law Enforcement Today has previously reported on various departments’ amendments to policies that generated concerns due to the collateral damage that can occur from high-speed pursuits gone awry.
On December 31st, the Independence Police Department initiated a pursuit of a suspect vehicle for various undisclosed traffic violations that reportedly made its way into Kansas, Missouri, before the pursuit turned fatal. Officials say the vehicle being driven by the suspect was later determined to be stolen, which the unidentified driver crashed into several vehicles while attempting to elude authorities.
One of the vehicles the suspect reportedly crashed into killed one occupant, identified as 47-year-old Daniel Perez Sanchez, and left two other occupants inside the vehicle critically injured. Independence Police Officer Bryan Conley noted that pursuits, even for minor offenses, are somewhat standard for the department due to the underlying concerns as to why a suspect is fleeing over mere traffic violations.
“We chase for minor traffic violations because when people run, it's usually because they have more serious offenses,” Officer Conley said in a statement regarding the incident, further noting that the tragic outcome of the pursuit is “100% the suspect’s fault.” The driver of the stolen vehicle remains at large, according to officials.
Lauren Bonds, who serves as the executive director of the National Police Accountability Project, which is a nonprofit dedicated to “ending law enforcement overreach and abuse of power,” says that incidents like these are evidence as to why police pursuits need to be more limited.
“I think it's incredibly important that officers restrict the situations in which they engage in these pursuits,” Bonds stated, adding, “just because they’re so dangerous.”
Public scrutiny toward police pursuit policies is hardly a novel concept, as Law Enforcement Today has previously reported on various departments’ amendments to policies that generated concerns due to the collateral damage that can occur from high-speed pursuits gone awry.
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