Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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POLICY
1. The primary purpose of the Miami County Sheriffs Office is to protect life and
property. Therefore, this directive is established to provide a guideline for officers
to determine when vehicular pursuit is warranted and procedures which shall be
followed.
2. Vehicular pursuit shall be defined as the attempt by a law enforcement officer to,
by use of an emergency vehicle, apprehend a motorist who has failed to stop when
signaled or directed by a law enforcement officer and is fleeing to avoid
apprehension by the officer.
3. Vehicular pursuit of fleeing suspects presents a clear and present danger to the
public, law enforcement officers, and suspects during the pursuit. Therefore, to
ensure the safety and protection of all persons, the following policy has been
established.
a. Pursuit is only justifiable when the probable harm from the suspects escape
from apprehension exceeds the level of immediate danger to the public, the
officer(s) involved, and the suspect(s) involved in the pursuit. If
identification and apprehension of the suspect(s) can be attained through
other means, pursuit should not be initiated or should be terminated, unless
it is concluded that allowing the suspect to remain at large presents an
imminent threat of death or serious physical harm to the public.
4. The officer who initiated a vehicular pursuit shall file an incident report detailing all
circumstances for and during the pursuit. Said report shall be filed and reviewed by
the shift supervisor prior to ending the officers tour of duty.
a. In the absence of a shift supervisor, the officer shall file and review the
report with the next available shift supervisor.
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PROCEDURE
. Initiation of Pursuit:
VEHICULAR PURSUIT SECTION 3.4
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() Unit number;
VEHICULAR PURSUIT SECTION 3.4
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. Supervision of Pursuit:
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Upon notification that a vehicular pursuit is in progress, the supervisor shall
assume command of and monitor the progress and control of the pursuit,
reviewing all information available to determine whether the pursuit should
be continued or terminated.
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The supervisor, in controlling the pursuit is responsible for coordinating the pursuit
by:
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The supervisor will not authorize more than two (2) emergency vehicles to be in
actual pursuit utilizing emergency lights and siren. Other units may be
directed to follow the pursuit expeditiously in the area, on parallel
roadways, etc. that will best aid in causing the earliest possible conclusion
of the pursuit and arrest.
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The primary pursuit officer and any authorized secondary unit shall activate
emergency vehicle headlights, emergency lights and siren prior to beginning
and during a pursuit.
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Officers engaging in a pursuit shall exercise reasonable care in the operation of the
emergency vehicle to protect the safety of the public, themselves and
property in the pursuit.
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Officers may suspend their conformance to normal traffic regulations during a
pursuit, providing proper diligence and reasonable care is exercised in
operating the patrol vehicle and the action is necessary to effect the arrest
of the suspect.
. Pursuit Tactics:
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Only the primary pursuit officer and a secondary/backup unit shall be permitted to
engage in the pursuit.
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Officers may be assigned by the supervisor to assist or follow the pursuit on
parallel roadways or clear traffic etc., if, in the supervisors opinion it will
effect a more rapid, safe conclusion to the pursuit. However, such activity
is prohibited unless expressly authorized by a supervisor.
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Deliberate vehicle contact delivered by a pursuing vehicle to a suspect vehicle by
bumping or ramming to force the suspect to stop is prohibited. The only
exception is when deliberate vehicle contact is necessary for the officer to
defend himself or another person from an imminent threat of death or
serious physical harm. In such event, the Departments policy regarding the
Use of Lethal Force applies,
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Secondary/backup units in a pursuit shall not pass the primary pursuit unit unless
requested by the primary pursuit unit or the primary pursuit unit becomes
disabled.
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All units
involved in a pursuit shall maintain a safe distance between the officers
vehicle and the preceding vehicle to assure adequate stopping distance is
available.
. Terminating a Pursuit:
() Another patrol unit has been assigned as the primary pursuit unit.
. Any unit sustaining any damage to the patrol vehicle or experiencing failure
of any essential emergency vehicle equipment shall discontinue pursuit or
reduce the level of pursuit to one of surveillance and request direction from
the supervisor.
. Communications:
(1) monitoring and record all information regarding the pursuit and
suspect vehicle;
(2) notify all units to clear necessary frequencies except for emergency
radio traffic;
. A complete incident report regarding the pursuit shall be filed at the end of
the shift.
. Pursuit Assistance:
b. No more than two units shall be in active pursuit. If the pursuit continues
beyond the limits of Miami County and another agency joins the pursuit,
a. Only patrol vehicles equipped with operable emergency lights and siren
should participate in the actual pursuing of the fleeing vehicle.
Pursuits outside the county present additional risks to the deputies involved
as they would not be familiar with the roadways or other geographic
features. Deputies will suspend and/or turn the pursuit over to the local
jurisdiction.
If the offender is taken into custody, the deputy can file appropriate charges
and leave, or forward the proper paperwork to return the offender to
Miami County. It is suggested that the local prosecutor be contacted
regarding filing of charges as there may be shared responsibilities with the
prosecutors office where the defendant is in custody.