Classes encourage cops to review pursuit policies

EDINBURG — It’s a split-second call that virtually every patrol officer must make: When to pursue and when to cut a suspect loose.

Last week, law enforcement officials from across the Rio Grande Valley met at the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Academy to learn about engaging in police pursuits.

Many factors play into an officer’s decision to chase a criminal or let him go — the nature of the offense, traffic and weather conditions, and whether speed poses a safety threat to the public or the officer.

“Police pursuits are probably more dangerous to officers and the public than a gunfight,” Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said. “They have been a very dangerous thing and I am very concerned about it.”

Split-second judgment calls can prove deadly, as was seen last month in Edinburg.

Edinburg police Officer Gilberto Montezano engaged in a pursuit Feb. 12 after a suspect fled the scene of a stash house burglary — a felony. The suspect fled the wrong way — against the flow of traffic — on the Expressway 281 frontage road, resulting in a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle, killing three of its occupants.

Edinburg Police Chief Quirino Muñoz said his department follows a “discretionary” policy unique to each situation about when to engage in pursuits. Montezano’s case remains under internal investigation at the department, the chief said.

State law does not create a uniform policy for all local law enforcement agencies regarding pursuits, said Sgt. Byron Fausset of the Hempstead, Texas, Police Department, who taught the pursuit classes at the sheriff’s academy. Local agencies’ policies help protect them from potential lawsuits, especially if the officer violates the rules.

“If they have the policy in place, it tells the officer what they can and cannot do,” Fausset said.

There were 404 fatalities nationwide that stemmed from police pursuits in 2006, according to an analysis of government data by PursuitWatch.org, a pursuit safety advocate. Among those deaths, 133 of the victims were bystanders or occupants of uninvolved vehicles.

At the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, Treviño said deputies maintain constant radio contact with their supervisor during pursuits. Besides the nature of the crime, the decision to enter a pursuit depends on traffic, road and weather conditions, and whether the encounter is in an urban or rural area.

Weslaco police officers follow similar protocol when deciding to pursue a criminal, said Sgt. Joe Rodriguez, who attended one of the sessions on Friday.

Depending on the nature of the offense — especially if no felony was committed — it may be best to cut loose the suspect, despite the officer’s desire to catch the criminal.

“Using good common sense — that’s what it boils down to,” Rodriguez said. “Once you get their license plates, let them go. We’ll get them later.”

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.