A new report from CBS Texas claims many officers in the state lack proper pursuit training. The implied result is that many innocent bystanders have been hurt or killed in crashes during police chases when such accidents should have been avoided.
Angry Texas man gets his stolen Camaro back himself.
In the report, a city’s police force which undergoes pursuit training annually is highlighted. Admittedly, this sort of practice would be ideal as officers are drilled on how to prioritize public safety while still keeping pace with fleeing suspects.
But we know many law enforcement agencies, in Texas and other states, don’t do this sort of thing. In fact, many officers only receive rigorous pursuit training in the academy and that’s it. CBS Texas seems shocked this type of training isn’t made mandatory by the state.
It would be great if every law enforcement agency did this type of training for all its members at least once a year, along with other training courses. But part of the problem is resources can be scarce, something members of the public and media seem to almost willfully ignore.
But law enforcement agencies also need to be held accountable when they don’t train properly. Nobody wants to see innocent people killed all because a cop doesn’t get that blowing through a red light without clearing the intersection can be a deadly mistake.
People can point the fingers all they want, but the fact of the matter is pursuit training requires funding. Not only do law enforcement agencies need access to proper facilities, extra vehicles, and other equipment, they have to pay instructors and the officers as they’re going through the training, all while keeping enough officers out patrolling.
When it was fashionable to partially defund law enforcement agencies, these types of programs either suffered or became even further from a reality. Because the truth is if we all want better-trained police, they need the funding for the actual training, not just ill-informed public shaming for real or perceived problems.
Image via CBS Texas/YouTube
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