Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4020 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: MARCH 2016 I n Washington’s Sno- homish County, Sher- iff Ty Trenary has an- nounced a restrictive new pursuit policy. “We absolutely expect our pursuits will be cut in half,” Trenary told reporters with the Herald newspaper. Trenary is trying to get away from the old-school approach to pursuits. He wants to move away from the “need to chase every- body with a hangnail” ap- proach. “We needed to tighten things up,” Trenary said. The new policy was ex- plained in depth during a recent training session for supervisors in the sheriff’s office. In a unique approach, part of the training involved hearing from people whose loved ones had died as the result of pursuits they were not supposed to be involved in. They heard from an Il- linois woman whose two young daughters were killed in a pursuit. Her story was a powerful reminder that even when of- ficers are trying to do good things like catching bad guys, they can do tremen- dous harm unintentionally. Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Robert- son, who is the police chief in Granite Falls, said it was a powerful session. “It was truly life-moving for a lot of us,” he said. “We don’t want bad guys to get away, but we have to manage that with putting people’s lives at risk,” Sheriff Trenary said. The key here, as with all pursuit policies, is striking the right balance as far as risk. If officers have the sus- pect’s identity, for example, there’s no reason not to wait a little while to make an uneventful arrest. “We’ll go back and get them later,” Sheriff Trenary said. Changes to policy in- clude: • No joining pursuits that start in other jurisdictions with- out supervisor approval. • No calling off a pursuit and then continuing to follow the suspect, at a lower speed and without lights and sirens. If a pursuit is terminated, “the deputy has to pull over and stop the car,” Trenary said. • No chases related to misde- meanor crimes or traffic infrac- tions, except for DUI. Pursuits are discouraged for felonies that don’t involve violence or weap- ons. • Stopping the chase if the suspect goes the wrong way down a highway or one-way street, or if the deputy loses radio contact with dispatchers or the supervising sergeant. • No crashing the patrol car and then taking off again de- spite the damage. Police pursuits are the most dangerous type of law enforcement action for the public and officers alike. They are also among the po- lice actions that are respon- sible for the most lawsuits and eventual high damage awards. Pursuits restrictions OK’d “It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.” – Denis Waitley Memorial Fund Gift Shop www.ShopLawMemorial.org Your purchases help support the Memorial Fund’s mission 1-866-569-4928 25-Year Commemorative Coin 25-Year Commemorative Badge Deluxe Boxed Set with Badge, Lapel Pin and Coin Lapel Pin