Pursuit Laws

[Dagger969]

Does anyone know if there is a generally agreed upon set of laws when it comes to pursuit. I live in missouri and I hear all kinds of talk about how a pursuit has to end once the chase reaches a certain speed and so on. Can anyone verify this or set me straight? Thanks

[soccersteve]

i've heard here in ohio that you can't pursue a bike over 80. i have no idea whether thats true or not, because the source wsan't exactly relaible. i won't believe it until i read it with my own eyes.

[Anonymous]

Here in Oregon I've seen and heard on a bunch of chases involving many cars, helicopters, and road chains (hopefully not on a motorcycle :smt119 )
So I don't think they have a any chase restrictions

However, I know in Seattle, police are not allowed to chase at all within city limits cause the traffics so bad up there....it makes it wickedly dangerous for everyone (5-6 lane hwys and such )

[Joe Average]

i believe pursuit guidelines would be established on a department by department basis. would all depend on who was chasing you.

[ThAzKat]

i've heard here in ohio that you can't pursue a bike over 80. i have no idea whether thats true or not, because the source wsan't exactly relaible. i won't believe it until i read it with my own eyes.

Steve is right but that is for all vehicles. I have a Brother that is a Franklin county Police officer and The rule is to call off persuit if speeds reach above 80 mph. I am sure the laws are different for each county or city or even state. I don't think there is a max. speed rule in Arizona though?!

[1BlueKat]

In Oklahoma, they are supposed to end pursuit if the chase becomes too dangerous for the public, but any chase would be dangerous to the public. I know of serveral guys that have ran from the cops, and so far, none have been caught.

[woobie]

Just remeber these are only guidelines.

You've got a LEO sitting on patrol in the middle of the night bored out of his skull and a bike screams by above the limit but catchable. Do you really think he'd pass up some mid shift excitement?

Add to that the simple fact that in alot of chases they don't need to "catch" the bike to pull it over, they just need to keep them in sight until they crash.

[md86]

i've heard here in ohio that you can't pursue a bike over 80. i have no idea whether thats true or not, because the source wsan't exactly relaible. i won't believe it until i read it with my own eyes.

Steve is right but that is for all vehicles. I have a Brother that is a Franklin county Police officer and The rule is to call off persuit if speeds reach above 80 mph. I am sure the laws are different for each county or city or even state. I don't think there is a max. speed rule in Arizona though?!

Well now , then that means I could run all the way through Ohio at 85 and they can't catch me ! I'll keep that in mind when I rent a car to drive up to Detroit in a couple weeks ...

[Crackshot]

I'm from Missouri as well. I know for a fact they can't pursue motorcycles in Kansas City, and I HEARD they can't pursue in Ill. But other than that...

[977blue]

There aren't any laws per se that govern police pursuit, its usually dictated by department policy. Ours takes pursuits on a case by case basis. The supervisor is to be notified imediately as to speeds, traffic conditions and the reason for attempting to stop the vehicle. Its up to the supervisor to dictate whether or not to terminate the pursuit. Of course, the pursuing officer's common sense should come into play, too, but we all know that sometimes goes out the window in the heat of the moment.

I personally don't care for the argument to terminate a pursuit simply because the violator committed a minor traffic infraction. Yes, he may be running to avoid a ticket but how do I know he's not running because he just committed a violent felony or is wanted for same?

[ThAzKat]

i've heard here in ohio that you can't pursue a bike over 80. i have no idea whether thats true or not, because the source wsan't exactly relaible. i won't believe it until i read it with my own eyes.

Steve is right but that is for all vehicles. I have a Brother that is a Franklin county Police officer and The rule is to call off persuit if speeds reach above 80 mph. I am sure the laws are different for each county or city or even state. I don't think there is a max. speed rule in Arizona though?!

Well now , then that means I could run all the way through Ohio at 85 and they can't catch me ! I'll keep that in mind when I rent a car to drive up to Detroit in a couple weeks ...

This thing they call a radio will get you no matter what. First the getto bird then the town up ahead. My brother doesn't stress over speeders, they will be caught but it might take longer. I do have to add that I did 120mph in a car once and the state patrol just pulled into the medium and sat there. I stayed on the gas because I was already busted if he came after me, he didn't

[soccersteve]

and remember, even if they call off the pursuit, they still have a license plate # (if they get that close). and they'll put that in the little computer and next time you get pulled over...they'll see this on the comp. and you will def. not get out of that one. and you'll probably get a ticket for evading. i'm not exactly sure on the evading thing, but it seems logical.

[Dagger969]

I personally don't care for the argument to terminate a pursuit simply because the violator committed a minor traffic infraction. Yes, he may be running to avoid a ticket but how do I know he's not running because he just committed a violent felony or is wanted for same?

Youre right. Im some of our minds, were avoiding tickets, but cops dont necessarily know that....something to think about.

[WildKat]

I think somebody from "COPS" should come in and see this thread!

[The CyberPoet]

Related thoughts & knowledge:

Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has a cap on pursuits at 130 mph, unless there is a known felony involvement. If your car or bike does 150+, and you fly through a speed trap on the interstate, you can just keep cruising -- at least in theory (I have numerous times, primarily in the Audi's).
Many departments have pre-arranged cross-jurisdiction permission. Example: if you speed out of Clearwater, FL at 8 mph over and get to the county line (entering the city of Tampa), they do not have to get permission to follow you to do the pursuit/traffic stop.
Failure to stop may invoke a felony in-and-of-itself, and in Clearwater at least, failure to stop means they will come by your house and relieve you of your motorcycle the next day if they got your tag (even if you don't live in their jurisdiction)... often while carting you off to jail in the process...
Radios work... for some departments. If the force is spread thin and spread out far enough not to be able to use this to their advantage, it may not make any difference. Example again, FHP usually has it's officers spread thin on the west side of Florida in the wee hours of the weeknights after the bar crowds go home, especially if they are also handling non-traffic crimes for areas without local police. On the other hand, Georgia is extremely diligent in catching their traffic offenders.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet