Spokane sheriff limits high-speed chases

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies will no longer chase vehicles to capture people wanted for low-level crimes.

A pre-existing felony charge is now required, officials said Thursday.

The change is a vast difference from the previous pursuit policy, said Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich. Before, a deputy could use a patrol car to initiate a high-speed chase for someone with a misdemeanor.

After Knezovich realized the Sheriff’s Office lacked a clear policy on when to initiate pursuits of suspects, he went about revamping the wording to make it clear, he said. The change is now effective agencywide.

The sheriff said he considered: “What is the benefit of a pursuit versus the public’s safety? Is it worth pursuing someone for a misdemeanor?”

But Knezovich said there are some exceptions to the ban. Driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, is worth a pursuit because a drunken driver puts others in immediate danger, he said. A domestic violence suspect is another example.

“We have a caveat in our policy that says a deputy may act outside of policy, but they will be required to justify it afterwards,” said Sgt. Dave Reagan, a sheriff’s spokesman. “But rarely does that happen. The deputy has to know at the time he acts outside the policy that there was lawful reason to do so,” like knowledge that the driver has abducted a child, for example.

The Spokane Police Department’s pursuit policy mirrors that of the sheriff’s new guidelines. However, Seattle police have an even more restrictive policy, said spokeswoman Renee Witt. They’re not to initiate a car chase unless there is an imminent danger to others, she said.

“For example, if it’s a stolen car, no, we don’t pursue,” Witt said. “But if it’s a bank robber who was just involved in a shoot-out, then we would pursue. Basically, if we feel that if we don’t get this person in custody other lives could be in danger, then there’s a pursuit.”

The new Spokane County policy is more restrictive when a suspect is on a motorcycle because the potential for a crash is higher than with a car.

“We would continue to pursue a motorcyclist if he presents a clear danger to the public, such as an armed robber,” Reagan said.

As part of the pursuit policy, the Sheriff’s Office also is now authorized to use a “pursuit immobilization technique,” or “PIT” maneuver, in which officers use a patrol car to clip the rear of a suspect’s vehicle and send it into a spin.

The technique has been used by Spokane police for at least five years, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe.

For the most part, the Seattle police do not use the PIT maneuver, Witt said. However, the department’s SWAT team is trained on how to do it.

The use of the technique in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is at the discretion of a boss, Reagan said.