Allegheny County DA unveils model policy for police chases

The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office on Thursday unveiled a model policy for local police departments to use when deciding to pursue motor vehicles during an arrest.

District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said he wants to change guidelines so officers maintain public safety when becoming involved in a chase. Zappala's office worked with the Allegheny County Chiefs of Police Association on the proposal.

“One of the primary efforts of the working committee was an attempt to secure a balance between the protections of the lives and safety of the public and police officers, and the duty of police to enforce the law and apprehend suspects,” Zappala said in a March 14 letter sent to the county's chiefs.

At Thursday's news conference, Zappala said he expects it to be a “minimum standard. ... If they do not follow the standard, there will be ramifications.”

The policy states: “A motor vehicle pursuit is justified only when the necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the level of danger created by the pursuit.”

It gives officers the discretion to pursue suspects for forcible felonies.

The policy also states that officers who decide not to pursue or to terminate a pursuit will not be disciplined as encouragement to “weigh risks” and “be cautious.”

“The need for this strict policy has been driven by the recent police pursuits where civilians have been killed and injured by persons attempting to flee the police,” Fox Chapel police Chief David Laux said.

Laux said the sample policy should be held as a benchmark for departments across Allegheny County and he plans to use the proposal to amend the borough's current policy where needed.

Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole said that per state law, his department's policy is confidential.

Officers in that department have placed Stop Sticks to assist during their rare pursuits. Out of seven pursuits last year, they had no success.

“As we tried to deploy them, we (found) it difficult to get ahead of the pursuit,” he said.

Whitehall police Chief Donald Dolfi, who is on the executive board of the Chiefs of Police Association, shared his concerns and suggestions when the policy was being revised.

Whitehall has an eight-page, in-depth policy in place, Dolfi said.

Like the proposal, the borough's policy includes when to initiate or terminate a pursuit and the responsibilities of the officers and supervisor involved, Dolfi said.

“We will compare the policy to ours and see if changes need to be made,” Dolfi said.

Shaler police Chief Bryan Kelly, who also served on Zappala's committee, said he likely will integrate it with the his department's current policy.

“Our policy is modeled after the one provided by the state's Police Chiefs Association,” Kelly said. “So I'm probably going to use points from what we now have and what the D.A. has provided.”

Kelly thinks it would be wise for police chiefs to consider Zappala's guidelines.

“Police departments are required to have a pursuit policy, and the one the district attorney has provided has been vetted,” he said. “Using those guidelines helps put us on a road toward having some consistency among local police departments.”

Samson X Horne is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach him at 412-871-2325 or shorne@tribweb.com. Staff writers Tawnya Panizzi and Jim Spezialetti contributed.