High-speed police chases have killed thousands of innocent...

High-speed police chases have killed thousands of innocent bystanders

According to a USA TODAY research, since 1979, police have chased drivers at high speeds and in dangerous situations, frequently for

minor offences, killing over 5,000 bystanders and passengers and injuring tens of thousands more.

According to USA TODAY, almost half of all fatalities in police pursuits between 1979 and 2013 were spectators or passengers in

automobiles being pursued. A fugitive driver killed the majority of onlookers in their own vehicles.

Tens of thousands of people are chased by police in the United States each year, mainly for misdemeanours or traffic infractions, which

frequently leads to reckless speeding. The peril of the long-standing police practice of pursuing minor offenders is demonstrated by recent

cases.

On July 18, a driver who was being pursued by police for running a red light killed a 25-year-old man from New Jersey.

On June 7, a driver who police chased four miles for theft murdered a 63-year-old grandmother from Indianapolis.

Because his headlights were out, the driver who murdered a 60-year-old federal employee on March 19 near Washington, D.C., was

pursued by police.

“It was improper for the cops to pursue him. Evelyn Viverette, 83, mother of federal employee Charlie Viverette, stated, “That was a big,

crowded street.” “He wouldn’t have hit my son if the police hadn’t been chasing him.”

According to some police, pursuing evasive drivers upholds law and order since they are suspect. Michael Crivello, a Milwaukee Police

Detective and the president of the city’s police union, stated, “When criminals believe they can do whatever they want, that will just fester

and foster more crimes.”

Numerous law enforcement agencies, such as the Justice Department, have acknowledged the perilous nature of high-speed pursuits and

encourage officers to refrain from or terminate pursuits that put themselves, pedestrians, or other drivers in danger. According to

government data, at least 139 police officers have been murdered during pursuits.

According to Tulsa Police Maj. Travis Yates, who oversees a nationwide pursuit-training academy, “a pursuit is probably the most unique

and dangerous job law enforcement can do.”

In 1990, the Justice Department referred to pursuits as “the most dangerous of all ordinary police activities” and advised police

departments to implement procedures that specify the precise circumstances in which officers are permitted to follow an individual.

According to the NYPD, “police vehicle chases occur far more frequently each year than police shootings.”

Police chases have killed almost as many people as justified police shootings, according to government statistics that are generally

believed to undercount fatal shootings. However, despite the Justice Department’s warning, the number of chase-related deaths in 2013

was higher than the number in 1990 — 322 compared to 317, according to records of the Department of Transportation’s National

Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which examines all fatal motor vehicle crashes.