ALBANY, NY- “No one is above the law!” So says New York Attorney General Letitia James. That is, unless you play fast and loose with real estate transactions or if you attempt to engage police in pursuit in New York.
James, who is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for possible criminal activity surrounding several real estate transactions, is pushing the New York legislature to pass a law that would ban most police pursuits, while requiring police agencies to track and publish data on police pursuits, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.
James cited a report completed by her office that alleges 30% of police pursuits between 2015 and 2020 ended in a crash, according to national data mentioned in the report by her office.
In two decades prior, the report alleged that an average of 355 people, or one person per day, were killed on an annual basis in pursuit-related crashes.
The report alleges that “ambiguous police policies” often leave the decision to pursue up to the discretion of individual officers. The report claims that there is no mandatory and centralized database on police pursuits, which makes it more challenging to study the issue.
“The evidence is clear: police vehicle pursuits and high-speed car chases can be dangerous and even fatal, and it is time for a change,” James said in a statement. “We are proposing these reforms to improve public safety for everyone on the road–drivers, passengers, and law enforcement.”
James ignores a critical component of police chases–the suspect who engages police in pursuit in the first place. States that have outright banned or severely restricted police pursuits have seen an increase in the number of drivers who don’t stop for the police.
And often, it is a routine traffic stop that leads to a significant arrest. For example, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was stopped by a police officer for a routine traffic violation.
James’ proposal would outlaw police pursuits except in the event of a serious or violent felony being committed, or where there is an imminent threat to others because of the driver’s behavior.
However, based on James’ complaint that current policies (or lack thereof) rely on “the discretion of individual officers,” this proposed law still seems to rely on that discretion. After all, who decides whether someone’s operation is “an imminent threat to others?”
What James should be advocating is using technology so that pursuits are not necessary to begin with. Police have been using tire deflation devices for years, but deploying those comes with its own risks.
Police officers have been seriously injured or killed by drivers attempting to avoid driving over such devices.
Several solutions have been proposed, including a product manufactured in the UK called “RF Safe-Stop.”
That product utilizes a pulse of L-band (1 to 2 GHz) and S-band (2 to 4 GHz) microwave energy to disrupt the vehicle's electronics being pursued. The device functions from as far as 164 feet away.
The National Institute of Justice reported on several technologies that show some promise, including the technology mentioned above, as well as electronic discharge devices that emit a series of short-range electromagnetic pulses that disrupt or destroy vehicle electronics.
One of the more promising solutions was a collaboration between the NIJ and StarChase, a Virginia-based company that utilizes laser targeting and a compressed air unit to fire a miniature GPS, including a battery, at a car.
With a specialized adhesive that ensures the system stays on the target vehicle, the GPS transmits the car’s location every few seconds.
The NIJ said such a system could be integrated into patrol vehicles.
Utilizing smart traffic signals, which turn red in all directions when activated by an emergency vehicle's siren, a system called emergency vehicle preemption, would also seem to be a wise investment that the government can make to minimize the risk to innocent motorists by reckless drivers engaging in pursuit of police.
Some of the savings generated by redirecting aid to foreign countries could be used to make the roads safer for Americans.
It is clear that police pursuits are among the most hazardous tasks undertaken by police officers. That is why pursuit driver training should be a priority. For many police officers, they get minimal emergency vehicle driver training in the police academy. Most of it is on-the-job training, which is entirely inadequate.
Letitia James should spend more time figuring out her real estate transactions than going out of her way to make the job of police officers more difficult. The report James cites is laughable, with the following a hilarious example of its insanity:
“If police stop chasing, the driver will slow down.”
No, if police stop chasing, reckless drivers will not be “educated” by way of huge fines to change their behavior.
The report also fails to give the overwhelming majority of police officers any credit, instead transferring the blame from the reckless driver to the police.
The Police Benevolent Association of New York said as much and called the report “one-sided” for failing to lay blame on those who flee the police.
“The officers we represent make split-second, life or death decisions every single day,” the union said in a statement. “They do so by balancing many factors, including the seriousness of an offense, their own personal safety, and the well-being of the general public."
"Rather than one [sic] again scrutinizing the decisions made by police officers, we urge the OAG and New York’s lawmakers to instead consider passing laws which increase criminal liability and penalties from those who flee from lawful traffic stops and investigations.”
Making bad guys responsible for their own bad decisions? What a concept!
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