A typically 'fun' day in Arkansas...

I have viewed many such chases involving the Arkansas State Police; some with concern.  I use this agency as a topic for discussion due to the high internet exposure their pursuits receive lately; not to single them out as particularly deficient or lesser than any other agency.  I do admire their tenacity and devotion to duty for sure but on many occasions the risk to the motoring public is far too great considering the nature of the suspected or confirmed crime.  A common one for example is where the car is stolen or where the suspect has committed a minor theft or assault or is impaired.  It makes no sense to me to chase at high speeds, often for a considerable period of time, when the fleeing car is blowing through residential streets, stop signs, red lights, crowded thoroughfares, school zones, etc. when the original crime is one for which the suspect will be handed a minor punishment.  Having been involved in very many such pursuits in my police career I appreciate and empathize with the officer's elevated desire and feeling of responsibility in apprehending the fleeing suspect as the incident begins to unfold and I definitely know the extreme frustration felt in having to shut down an active pursuit for the greater good of public safety.  There are very many factors on both sides of the argument of whether or when to pursue and quite frankly I think it will always be somewhat gray given the varying amount of information known to the police at the time of that difficult pursuit decision being made.  It really can be a moral and professional minefield for the officer involved because there is always the frustration of "you're damned if you do and damned if you don't" and there will inevitably be criticism imposed from many perspectives. It's easy to be a post-incident critic when you calmly sit in your armchair and have the luxury of full incident/suspect knowledge from a personally detached perspective.  There is no clearly correct template to apply to such situations; it is not a "one size fits all" application.  As years ticked by for me in my policing career I eventually arrived at a general way to deal with pursuits; which made me decide to often discontinue the pursuit in lieu of safety when I was satisfied the criminal issue before me was relatively minor compared to me having to live with the knowledge that my decision to pursue cost someone their life.  I always tempered my decision with the consideration of how I would feel if my family was the innocent victim of that fleeing driver; which helped to calm my extreme frustration of not getting the suspect arrested as he so desperately deserved.  As technology evolves to enable police to disable fleeing vehicles more safely and quickly and police budgets allow for increased aircraft surveillance and other such costly but effective alternative assistance in major centers, hopefully the currently chronic high speed pursuit problem will begin to abate.  IMO it will take time however.

Knowing your background it is exceptionally fortuitous to be able to read your excellent analysis on the subject. I, too, watch a lot of these pursuits that emanate from Arkansas - on two main channels, this one; Natural State Transparency and Police Pursuits. And everything you so well state here, certainly does come to fruition!!. Thanks for weighing in Pal!! 

I watch "police interceptor" programmes on TV and never fail to be amazed that while the police involved (or the commentator) keep saying "this guy is an accident waiting to happen, we've got to stop him as soon as possible", we then watch 3 or 4 or 5 police cars running in procession behind the fleeing car for mile after mile, often through congested streets (apparently just waiting for the accident to happen). Police cars in this country not being equipped with bull bars, they don't dare do a "PIT manoeuvre" with one car, and insist on having 4 cars in convoy before attempting to box in the offender - once they've found a suitable stretch of traffic-free road, which may not happen for miles, by which time there is often a crash.

And after all that, the offender may simply get 3 penalty points on their licence (12 points before you lose your licence).

Of course, as you say, it's easy to criticise from a safe distance, but lack of quick, decisive action often seems to increase the risks in these chases.

Wow, that is one heck of a chase !

Posted by: @perrone1

Knowing your background it is exceptionally fortuitous to be able to read your excellent analysis on the subject. I, too, watch a lot of these pursuits that emanate from Arkansas - on two main channels, this one; Natural State Transparency and Police Pursuits. And everything you so well state here, certainly does come to fruition!!. Thanks for weighing in Pal!! 

one could do much,much worse than to be corralled by ol` officer Dodds

That picture makes me wonder if those police cruisers, laden down with heavy equipment, actually have enough horsepower for the job. I mean, it was a pickup truck, not a muscle car. and it left them standing at times!

@john-barry 

WOW JB! Impressive. How did you score that photo!  His 'pursuit vehicle' really isn't capable of the PIT maneuver but sure can apply a "BIT" maneuver!

Posted by: @perrone1

@john-barry 

WOW JB! Impressive. How did you score that photo!  His 'pursuit vehicle' really isn't capable of the PIT maneuver but sure can apply a "BIT" maneuver!

LOL !!  Back then it was so simple; you just plug the hombre with your Winchester, strap his body across his nag and ride back to town to see the undertaker.  Minimal paperwork.

Posted by: @graeme-ogg

That picture makes me wonder if those police cruisers, laden down with heavy equipment, actually have enough horsepower for the job. I mean, it was a pickup truck, not a muscle car. and it left them standing at times!

Often the police car can reasonably keep up to most cars (not all of them of course) but the cop has a lot to do; radio communicating, scene evaluation, ongoing danger assessment (personal & public), tactical proximity placement of his car and others en route or placed ahead, exercising tactical driving methods, etc. to consider as it all unfolds.  This is why the officer is not always all over the tail end of the suspect vehicle; the situation can be extremely dynamic at times, especially when firearms are present.

Thanks Jack. Your first hand knowledge through your law career is much appreciated.

Posted by: @bob-jackman

Thanks Jack. Your first hand knowledge through your law career is much appreciated.

+1! Thanks for your service!

@jack-dodds...let me be the most recent to congratulate you on your career in law enforcement and the first to clearly state that any claims I might currently make or have made in the past or will make in the future regarding any alledged illegal activities are sheer hyperbole for the sake of entertainment only and fail to adequately represent my inherent law-abiding integrity and wholly legal lifestyle in all matters public and private. 

Posted by: @jkuvakas

@jack-dodds...let me be the most recent to congratulate you on your career in law enforcement and the first to clearly state that any claims I might currently make or have made in the past or will make in the future regarding any alledged illegal activities are sheer hyperbole for the sake of entertainment only and fail to adequately represent my inherent law-abiding integrity and wholly legal lifestyle in all matters public and private. 

LOL! (Now we need to work on the erasure of those pesky videos and redirection of their content on YouTube!)

Posted by: @jkuvakas

@jack-dodds...let me be the most recent to congratulate you on your career in law enforcement and the first to clearly state that any claims I might currently make or have made in the past or will make in the future regarding any alledged illegal activities are sheer hyperbole for the sake of entertainment only and fail to adequately represent my inherent law-abiding integrity and wholly legal lifestyle in all matters public and private. 

JK and Tony;

Given that we MAY or MAY NOT be members of the anonymous Diecast Zone Forum Think Tank(ed) elite group, it is comforting to know that their membership screening rules automatically guarantee that all of your listed areas of concern are erased....I mean....are proven to never have existed.