Police Pursuit: How Cops Decide When to Chase a Fleeing Car

The last week of October and the first week of November brought at least four police pursuits in central Contra Costa County:

• On Tuesday, Oct. 25, a man fleeing from Concord police crashed his pickup truck into an auto at the Grant Street exit from Highway 242, killing the car’s driver. The pickup driver was fleeing police after a traffic stop for talking on a cell phone while driving.

• On Monday, Oct. 31, Pittsburg police attempted to stop a truck for speeding. The truck’s driver then crashed into another vehicle, although police say they had already slowed down. A passenger in the truck died at the scene and the truck driver died later at a local hospital. Two people in an SUV hit by the truck were hospitalized.

• On Tuesday, Nov. 1, a Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office lieutenant from Alamo to Walnut Creek. No injuries were reported.

• On Wednesday, Nov. 2, Concord police officers spotted three robbery suspects and chased their vehicle along Market Street toward an on-ramp to state Highway 242. At the on-ramp, an officer stopped the vehicle with a "precision intervention technique" maneuver, police said. No injuries were reported.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says about 360 people — police officers, suspects and innocent bystanders — die annually as a result of police pursuits. Some experts say the actual number is much higher and that fatalities are underestimated because of technicalities in the reporting system.

About one-third of those killed are innocent bystanders, according to a USA Today article published last year.

Although Walnut Creek has not had a police pursuit end in death or major injury in recent years, we asked the how officers decide when to chase a fleeing suspect and when not to.

“To start with, we don’t chase anyone for mechanical violations,” said WCPD Lt. Bryan Hill.

Beyond that, it’s a matter of weighing the dangers to public safety, he said.

“What’s going to be more dangerous for the public — a chase or not catching a suspect?” he said. “Specifically, what’s the seriousness of the crime? For example, is it a robbery or is it a petty theft?"

The individual police officer involved is responsible for making that decision initially, but every pursuit is monitored by a senior officer — a supervisor or watch commander — Hill said. The senior officer is responsible for deciding whether to end a chase in progress.

“It’s a great responsibility and we train regularly and go over departmental policy between trainings,” Hill said.

The training includes in-the-car instruction for officers once a year, which takes place on a track at the Buchanan Field airport in Concord.

Between those annual sessions, officers train with simulated pursuit driving on computers, Hill said.

Walnut Creek’s pursuit policy is similar to that of other police departments, he said.