TAMPA, FL- Partially in response to a fatal November 2025 crash of a vehicle that had been pursued in the city of Tampa by Florida Highway Patrol troopers, that killed four pedestrians and injured thirteen others, the Tampa Police Department is updating its pursuit policy, Fox 13 in Tampa reports.
On November 8, 2025, a Tampa PD aviation unit spotted two cars apparently street racing, with one then heading southbound on I-275. Court documents revealed that “the TPD aviation unit communicated the location of the vehicle to a TPD patrol unit as well as to two Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
dir="ltr">After the initial report, a FHP trooper attempted to stop the suspect vehicle seen operating at a high rate of speed on I-275, however the driver refused to stop. After a short time, the trooper attempted a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle, but the maneuver was unsuccessful, and the vehicle continued speeding down 7th Ave.Due to heavy pedestrian traffic, the trooper ended the pursuit at 12:45 a.m, court documents stated. Shortly afterward, the aviation unit announced, “Hey FHP–we’ll keep him in sight if you want to back off since he’s on 7th Ave.”
Immediately after that broadcast was completed, the suspect vehicle plowed into a group of people outside Bradley’s in Ybor City, killing four and injuring thirteen. The driver, Silas Sampson, then-22, was arrested and is facing a slew of charges, including DUI manslaughter.
After the deadly crash, the Tampa PD initiated a review of its pursuit policy, even though, according to the department, they were not directly involved in the pursuit, nor had they requested participation of the FHP in the pursuit. In a memo signed by Chief Lee Bercaw earlier this week, “the review confirmed that TPD did not participate in or request the pursuit of the vehicle involved.”
The review conducted by TPD included the deadly November crash, and “all fleeing to elude incidents involving FHP within the city of Tampa since February 2024.” Fox 13 had previously reported that the Florida Highway Patrol’s pursuit policy is more relaxed than that of Tampa’s police department and was amended in 2024 to give troopers more leeway when engaging in pursuits.
“Agencies have different ways of doing things,” said Thomas Gleason, a retired police captain who has served as a PIT trainer and law enforcement driving instructor. “But how do we merge those together where we can have a good working relationship?” It should be noted that Gleason is not affiliated with the investigation into November’s deadly crash.
As part of its review, the Tampa PD announced that officers are banned from asking other law enforcement agencies to pursue vehicles if the department’s own policy wouldn’t allow officers to do so.
Under a communications lending agreement with the FHP, the Tampa PD had previously issued eight radios to the Florida Highway Patrol. Those radios have been revoked, and the new policy requires any communication between the Tampa PD and FHP to go through the Tampa PD’s Communications Department.
“...future communication with FHP will be coordinated with our communications division with the main radio frequencies to ensure transparency and accountability for all involved,” the department announced.
Fox 13 reached out to the Florida Highway Patrol to ask if the trooper involved in the November pursuit had a TPD radio, however no response was received.
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