Vehicle Pursuit Policy
Introduction
This is the community-wide Law Enforcement pursuit policy. All Law Enforcement members are to follow this policy at all times; failure to follow the said policy will result in disciplinary action.
Section 1 – Pursuit Initiation
Officers are authorized to initiate a pursuit when it is known that a suspect is attempting to evade arrest or detainment by means of a vehicle. Officers must always take in account the following information before initiating a Vehicle Pursuit:
The seriousness of the crime and if it's an instant threat to the public
Weather & Traffic conditions are clear
Speeds are not excessive of 100 miles per hour within City Limits
Speeds are not excessive of 120 miles per hour within Blaine County and Surrounding Highways/State Routes.
Performance of Law Enforcement Vehicles match that of the fleeing suspect’s Vehicle
External factors must be taken into account (Hostages, Explosives etc)
Officer Availability (Air Unit, Additional Units)
Persons within the Vehicle have been identified and can be apprehended in the future through a warrant.
Section 2 – Pursuit Termination
The Initiating Officer and Supervisors are authorized to terminate any pursuit when it is known that the persons within the pursuit meet the following factors :
Suspects Location is unknown for a prolonged amount of time.
The Suspect was going to be charged with Misdemeanor Level Charges and is not an imminent threat to the public.
Weather Conditions are too dangerous for the pursuit to continue (Snow, Heavy Rain, etc)
Pursuit is terminated by any active supervisor. The supervisor can end the pursuit they see necessary.
Section 3 – Primary Unit
The Primary Unit in the pursuit will be the Initiating Unit for the Vehicle Pursuit however in the event that the unit is unmarked, or does not have a rambar they must get a fully marked/ghosted unit with a proper rambar to take primary however if there is a traffic enforcement unit present or active they will take up the primary position. The jobs of the Primary Unit are:
Identifying external threats including firearms, hostages, explosives, etc.
Description of occupants in a vehicle.
Description of vehicle and occupants.
Keeping eyes on the vehicle at all times.
Executing a P.I.T. Maneuver, you should not attempt a PIT maneuver without permission from a supervisor, when you are requesting permission you need to give information on the weather conditions, speed of pursuit and traffic conditions.
Section 4 – Secondary Unit
The Secondary Unit will be the vehicle positioned second in the pursuit the jobs of the Secondary Unit are:
Remaining a safe distance away from the primary unit (2-3 Car Lengths)
Broadcasting location and other important information over RTO.
Section 5 – External Unit
The External unit will take up the third position within the pursuit. The External Unit is commonly used by specialized officers, for example, a K9 Unit, Traffic Enforcement Unit, or a Supervisor. The job of an External unit are:
Keeping a safe distance between yourself and Secondary Unit
If K9, you must be prepared for a foot bail.
If a Supervisor is present they will take responsibility for approving PIT’s and making the decision on whether or not the pursuit should be terminated.
Section 6 – Air Unit
An Air Unit can be called to assist in pursuit if there is an available air unit a vehicle pursuit should be their number one priority, air units will have the responsibility of the following:
Take over the broadcasting location and other information about the vehicle and occupancy
Keep eyes on the pursuit and redirect units if they have lost the subject vehicle.
Identify threats inside the vehicle e.g. if any person in the vehicle is in possession of a weapon the air unit should relay that information to the pursuing units.
If the subjects foot bail, the air unit will have the responsibility to try and stay with the driver of the vehicle so the pursuing units can arrest the driver.
Section 7 – Pursuit Intervention Techniques
In the event of attempting to utilize any sort of Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) you must request permission from a supervisor and transmit the following “(Callsign), (Location), (Vehicle Speeds), (Traffic Conditions), (Technique being requested).
No one shall perform a PIT/TVI car if road conditions do not permit such as, wet roads, dirt roads, heavy traffic, per supervisors discretion.
No one shall perform a PIT/TVI on vehicles traveling at an unsafe speed of greater than 100mph, per supervisors discretion.
No one shall perform a PIT/TVI on a vehicle knowing that it will put others on the road in danger, per supervisors discretion.
No one shall perform a PIT/TVI on a motorcycle at any time, per supervisors discretion.
No one shall perform a PIT/TVI on a vehicle without the vehicle pursuits supervisor or supervisor enroute to the pursuits approval.
Section 8 – Jurisdiction
During a pursuit, depending on the beginning location where first initiated, the primary unit no matter of jurisdiction will remain on the pursuit due to being needed for conclusion of pursuit purposes (Writing Report, obtaining proper information, etc).
San Andreas Highway Patrol
All troopers are authorized to attached to any pursuit that takes place or enters a highway, freeway, or interstate. If pursuit gets into either county or city roadways, pursuit positions shall be replaced by the primary unit of the location within the pursuit. This does exclude any trooper within the pursuit depending on the circumstances and conditions of the pursuit.
Los Santos Police Department
Any pursuit taken place in the city of Los Santos (excluding city freeways, interstates, or highways). Any pursuit in Los Santos highways, interstates, or freeways only requires 1-2 state troopers and the rest being police officers within Los Santos. While active as Senora Valley, same conditions as Blaine County follow but Sheriff’s office has higher jurisdiction over same area.
Blaine County Sheriffs Office
Any pursuit taken place under county jurisdictions are to be prioritize by the sheriffs office. When any pursuit is then transitioned to highway or interstate, 1-2 troopers are required to be present during the pursuit depending on conditions of the pursuit. Los Santos County follow under same conditions as police department but are required to follow police department as they have primary jurisdiction.
All department sub-division activations are based off the current jurisdiction of the pursuit. If there are none available, it will be transferred to San Andreas Highway Patrol.
Section 9 – Communication
In the event of a Vehicle Pursuit, you MUST utilize the main RTO unless requested by dispatch or supervisor to switch to a Tac Channel. During any Vehicle Pursuit signal, 100 will be placed into effect.
Section 10 – Lethal Force in a Vehicle Pursuit
If the suspect ever becomes a further threat to the public for example ramming officers/civilians, running over civilians/officers, shooting, etc you will utilise the force you seem necessary however you must always take into account other factors such as hostages, surrounding civilians, surrounding buildings and if there any explosives.
Section 11 – Final Stop
If the pursuit comes to a final stop the primary unit will call out “Final stop (POSTAL), (STREET NAME)”, once the vehicle is stopped all units must form a code 5 stop and when order all suspect out of the vehicle if one of the subjects takes off on foot at least one officer must stay with the vehicle.
Section 12 – Attachment To Pursuits
In the event of a Vehicle Pursuit you may NOT Self-Attach, you must request through active dispatch however if there is not active dispatch you must take in the following factors when attaching:
Number of person(s) in pursuit (Can vary depending on severity; Maximum of 5 for standard pursuits)
Officers Vehicle Performance
Road Terrain (dirt, sand, main road)
Weather Conditions (rain, snow)
Local Traffic Conditions (light, moderate, heavy)
Suspect was found after escaping visual.
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