WASHINGTON, DC – In a late-August executive order from President Donald Trump, the U.S. Park Police will evidently benefit from a less restrictive vehicle pursuit policy, according to reports. Apparently, the prior vehicle pursuit policy essentially forbade any kind of police pursuit of fleeing suspects, with the interim change seemingly being warmly welcomed by law enforcement.
On August 25th, President Trump signed an executive order dubbed “Additional Measures to Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia,” which outlined specific “operational actions” the National Park Service Director needed to undertake with respect to the U.S. Park Police, specifically the onboarding of additional officers in an effort to “ensure enforcement of all applicable laws within their jurisdiction.”
It was with the aforementioned carveout in President Trump’s executive order regarding the U.S. Park Police that led to discussions taking place with the agency, which when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum learned of the law enforcement agency’s prohibition on pursuing fleeing suspects, he worked to implement a swift change.
“I was shocked to find out when we were talking to them that, ‘you pull somebody over and they just drive away and you can’t pursue them?’ and they said, ‘No we can’t,'” Secretary Burgum stated regarding the discussions held with the agency, adding, “We got that rule changed in 24 hours because of President Trump’s leadership.”
Apparently, the next-to-non-existent pursuit policy previously upheld by the U.S. Park Police was known to locals so much so that some drivers were reportedly shocked to find themselves getting chased down in recent attempts to flee from traffic stops, according to Secretary Burgum. “The next night they had so much fun, they pulled people over, they chased them, they stopped them,” Secretary Burgum said of the newly implemented policy, further adding, “The bad guys in the cars said, ‘You’re not supposed to chase us. You’re breaking the rules.’”
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a statement regarding the recently adopted policy, clarifying that the current measures are only temporary until a more concrete pursuit policy can be hashed out. “Senior Leadership from the Fraternal Order of Police, the United States Park Police, and the Department of the Interior — on behalf of directives from the White House — negotiated an interim vehicle pursuit modification to our current General Order,” the FOP statement read.
On August 25th, President Trump signed an executive order dubbed “Additional Measures to Address the Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia,” which outlined specific “operational actions” the National Park Service Director needed to undertake with respect to the U.S. Park Police, specifically the onboarding of additional officers in an effort to “ensure enforcement of all applicable laws within their jurisdiction.”
It was with the aforementioned carveout in President Trump’s executive order regarding the U.S. Park Police that led to discussions taking place with the agency, which when Interior Secretary Doug Burgum learned of the law enforcement agency’s prohibition on pursuing fleeing suspects, he worked to implement a swift change.
“I was shocked to find out when we were talking to them that, ‘you pull somebody over and they just drive away and you can’t pursue them?’ and they said, ‘No we can’t,'” Secretary Burgum stated regarding the discussions held with the agency, adding, “We got that rule changed in 24 hours because of President Trump’s leadership.”
Apparently, the next-to-non-existent pursuit policy previously upheld by the U.S. Park Police was known to locals so much so that some drivers were reportedly shocked to find themselves getting chased down in recent attempts to flee from traffic stops, according to Secretary Burgum. “The next night they had so much fun, they pulled people over, they chased them, they stopped them,” Secretary Burgum said of the newly implemented policy, further adding, “The bad guys in the cars said, ‘You’re not supposed to chase us. You’re breaking the rules.’”
The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) issued a statement regarding the recently adopted policy, clarifying that the current measures are only temporary until a more concrete pursuit policy can be hashed out. “Senior Leadership from the Fraternal Order of Police, the United States Park Police, and the Department of the Interior — on behalf of directives from the White House — negotiated an interim vehicle pursuit modification to our current General Order,” the FOP statement read.
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