While we understand the desire to keep police from going full-on cowboy in car chases, sometimes policies go too far. We’ve seen this in places like Seattle, and it’s also a problem in Milwaukee.
Police impersonator causes confusion among cops.
This was confirmed by a recent report from local news station WTMJ-TV. It focuses on one chase from May 2022 the reporter claims the police department didn’t want to provide footage from even after a records request.
That specific chase was reportedly the longest one police had engaged in during the past 15 years. And the report claims police admit many mistakes were made during it, exposing the need for more training as well as a pursuit policy which allows officers to take more direct actions.
During that 89-mile chase there were several goof-ups by officers, including one running into the rear door of the suspect vehicle as it opened suddenly and an innocent pedestrian almost getting run over.
But most damning in the report is the claim Milwaukee police can only use Stop Sticks as a pursuit intervention tactic. Apparently, everything else, from PITs to boxing in a fleeing suspect are off the table thanks to the restrictive pursuit policies.
Several times, officers tried using Stop Sticks on the car running during that 89-mile chase, but they were ineffective.
While the restrictive pursuit policies certainly sound problematic, it also sounds like Milwaukee police need better training. That requires money and with the department’s budget slashed in September 2020 during the “defund the police” movement, that certainly didn’t make things better.
There’s apparently a movement in Milwaukee and some other cities to replace some of that slashed budget. We just hope that’s used to help train officers on better pursuit techniques while the policies are revised.
Otherwise, you can expect to see more car chase fiascos like the one WTMJ-TV fought to uncover.
Image via Milwaukee Police Department/Facebook
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