Vehicle Operation-veh-pursuits-tire deflating devices Flashcards
314.7.1 - INTERVENTION STANDARDS
Any pursuit intervention tactic, depending upon the conditions and circumstances under which it is used, may present dangers to the officers, the public, or anyone in or on the vehicle being pursued. Certain applications of intervention tactics may be construed to be a use of deadly force and subject to the requirements for such use. Officers who have not received department-approved training in the application and use of any intervention tactic or equipment shall consider these facts and requirements prior to deciding how, when, where, and if an intervention tactic should be employed.
Channelization may be used to redirect or stop a pursued vehicle. The selection of the best method and area in each circumstance should be preceded by an evaluation of all factors surrounding the individual pursuit. The methods used should offer the greatest probability of success with the least likelihood of injury to the general public, the officer and the suspect.
- Officers may deliberately direct a vehicle into a given path or location (i.e., unpaved roadway, dead end road, away from populated areas or intersections) by using stationary objects (pylons, barricades, vehicles) placed in the current path of the pursued vehicle. This method also may be used to direct a pursued vehicle toward and across a hollow spike strip.
cont!
- Channelization is considered a forcible stop technique, but does not require the justification of deadly force.
B. The Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) is a forced rotational non-compliant vehicle stop. This technique should not be used if speeds exceed 45 mph, if any of the vehicle tires have been blown or flattened, or if the vehicle has had its tires damaged by a tire deflating device, unless deadly force is justified.
- This technique should only be used when all other reasonable means of apprehension have been considered and rejected as impractical, e.g., air support, allied agency assistance, tire deflating devices or boxing-in; when the apparent risk of harm to other than the occupants of the pursued vehicle is so great as to outweigh the risk of harm in making the forcible stop; when the pursuing officer believes that the continued movement of the pursued vehicle would place others in danger of great bodily harm or death.
cont!
- Officers should use care and caution in selecting the location where the stop is to be made, so that any resulting danger can be minimized as much as possible.
C. Ramming a fleeing vehicle should be done only after other reasonable tactical means at the officers’s disposal have been exhausted. This tactic should be reserved for situations where there does not appear to be another reasonable alternative method. This policy is an administrative guide to direct officers in their decision-making process before ramming another vehicle. When ramming is used as a means to stop a fleeing vehicle, the following factors should be present:
- The suspect is an actual or suspected felon, who reasonably appears to represent a serious threat to the public if not apprehended.
cont!
- The suspect is driving with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of other persons or is driving in a reckless and life-endangering manner. If there does not reasonably appear to be a present or immediately foreseeable serious threat to the public, the use of ramming is not authorized.
D. The use of boxing-in as a technique for terminating pursuits is discouraged. Under ordinary circumstances, the potential hazard outweighs the probability of a successful stop of a violator. Therefore, this technique should only be used at slow speeds or where the obvious risks can be eliminated or appreciably reduced.
- Boxing-in shall not be used at high speeds or in those circumstances where the pursued subject has demonstrated a willingness to assault an officer either with the vehicle or some other means, i.e., a firearm.
- Boxing-in shall not be used when it is necessary to use citizens to effect the maneuver.
E. The use of tire deflating devices should be approved in advance by a supervisor and deployed only when it is reasonably certain that only the pursued vehicle will be affected by their use. Officers should carefully consider the limitations of such devices as well as the potential risks to officers, the public and occupants of the pursued vehicle. If the pursued vehicle is a motorcycle (consider if deadly force is justified), a vehicle transporting hazardous materials, or a school bus transporting children, officers and supervisors should weigh the potential consequences against the need to immediately stop the vehicle.
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F. Roadblocks are prohibited unless the circumstances would warrant the use of deadly force. Roadblocks should only be established with a supervisor’s approval. If a roadblock is established officers must:
Allow the suspect vehicle reasonable stopping distance.
Not place themselves or their vehicle in a position that would jeopardize the safety of the officers involved.
Not place vehicles in a position that is not reasonably visible to the suspect.
Reasonably ensure the safety of uninvolved pedestrians and motorists.
Definitions:
Blocking or vehicle intercept -
Blocking or vehicle intercept - A slow-speed coordinated maneuver where two or more patrol vehicles simultaneously intercept and block the movement of a suspect vehicle, the driver of which may be unaware of the impending enforcement stop, with the goal of containment and preventing a pursuit. Blocking is not a moving or stationary roadblock.
Boxing-in
Boxing-in - A tactic designed to stop a violator’s vehicle by surrounding it with law enforcement vehicles and then slowing all vehicles to a stop.
Channelization
Channelization - A technique similar to a roadblock, where objects are placed in the anticipated (or actual) path of a pursued vehicle with the intent of altering the vehicle’s direction of travel.
Paralleling
Paralleling - Participating in the pursuit by proceeding in the same direction and maintaining approximately the same speed while traveling on an alternate street or highway that parallels the pursuit route.
Pursuit intervention
Pursuit intervention - An attempt to terminate the ability of a suspect to continue to flee in a motor vehicle through tactical application of technology, road spikes, blocking, boxing, PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique), ramming or roadblock procedures. In this context, ramming shall be construed to mean maneuvering the police vehicle into contact with the pursued vehicle to mechanically disable or forcibly position it such that further flight is not possible or practical.
