Attorney General James Proposes Reforms to Address Dangerous Police Vehicle Pursuits

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today released a report on police vehicle pursuits and proposed reforms to help keep New Yorkers safe. Police vehicle pursuits have been shown to increase danger and result in injury or fatalities to drivers, passengers, bystanders, and police. In the report titled “Improving Policing and Public Safety: Problems Presented by Police and Vehicle Pursuits,” the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) reviews and analyzes available data showing how police vehicle pursuits harm New Yorkers, what other jurisdictions are doing to address police pursuits, and makes recommendations for reform.

“Millions of New Yorkers take to the roads each day, and they deserve policing and traffic enforcement that is safe, fair, and effective,” said Attorney General James. “The evidence is clear: police vehicle pursuits and high-speed car chases can be dangerous and even fatal, and it is time for a change. We are proposing these reforms to improve public safety for everyone on the road – drivers, passengers, and law enforcement.”

The report finds that some of the most extreme harm to New Yorkers happens when routine traffic stops escalate into pursuits or high-speed police chases. Although there is no mandatory centralized database for high-speed pursuits by law enforcement agencies in New York or nationwide, data pulled from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) maintained by the Department of Transportation (DOT) found that from 1996 to 2015, an average of 355 people – nearly one person per day – were killed annually in pursuit-related crashes. The report also reviewed several examples of police vehicle pursuits in New York that put both drivers and police officers in danger and led to civilian fatalities.

The clear danger of high-speed chases has led many jurisdictions across the country to take steps to update their enforcement practices. Some jurisdictions have banned pursuits and chases with limited exceptions, while others have implemented new policies that allow officers to use discretion within set guidelines when determining whether or not to initiate a chase. For example, Milwaukee changed its policy to require police officers to have probable cause for a violent felony before initiating a vehicle pursuit after a series of pursuit-related deaths in 2010.

In New York, laws and policies vary based on location. In New York City, a recent policy change limits officer discretion to initiate vehicle pursuit to only the most serious and violent crimes, not traffic infractions or low-level crimes. In Buffalo, pursuits are banned if they are in response to a traffic violation, a misdemeanor, or another non-violent felony, and in Albany, officers are required to consider several factors before starting a chase, including the threat posed to the public, seriousness of the offense, and possibility of apprehending the individual at a later time.

States and localities that have made changes to traffic enforcement and police vehicle pursuit policies in order to minimize harm and improve public safety have already seen successes. The OAG recommends New York implement similar statewide reforms to keep New Yorkers safe, including:

• Pass legislation to increase transparency. New York law enforcement agencies should be required to track and publish data about traffic pursuits and high-speed chases to improve public accountability, evaluate agency performance, and help oversight agencies protect civil liberties and civil rights. This data collection should be facilitated by a centralized agency such as the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
   
• Ban high-speed police pursuits with narrow exceptions. Though high-speed chases can be deadly, OAG recognizes they may be necessary when a serious or violent felony has been or will be committed or when the driver’s conduct poses an imminent threat of death to themselves, bystanders, or police officers. Narrow exceptions for use of high-speed police pursuits would eliminate police chases that risk harming drivers, passengers, bystanders, and officers.

The OAG is committed to protecting New York and New Yorkers. Three bureaus within OAG work to prevent and address law enforcement misconduct and improve policing practices and public safety for both civilians and law enforcement officers: the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office (LEMIO), the Civil Rights Bureau (CRB), and the Office of Special Investigations (OSI). This report was authored by LEMIO, CRB, and OSI.

This report was handled by Special Counsel Amanda Masters of the Division for Social Justice, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.