It is be said that some officers were verbally instructed to follow a policy to not chase drunk drivers. Seattle Police Department (SPD) has not adopted this as an official policy. To prevent a pursuit in the first place, officers have used a pinning maneuver where a patrol vehicle inches toward the suspect’s vehicle, making it difficult for them to drive away.
Officers have had run-ins with addicts clearly high on fentanyl, sitting in running vehicles, sometimes with their foot on the brake. This poses an obvious public safety threat. The draft explains that the policy impetus is wanting all officers to be trained in Vehicle-Related Force Tactics. But officers say they’ve been effectively using pinning for years.
It has been reported that some officers are upset with the draft policy, though some note that they’ve been handcuffed from doing their jobs so much already that this doesn’t phase them the way it normally would.
SPD has stated that it is considering where they stand on the policy of pursuits in relationship to DUIs. For now, it’s unclear if they are considering the policy outlined by Captain Grossman or if his draft is based on what the Command Staff at SPD is considering.
The policy comes as the SPD aims to mitigate the risks associated with vehicular pursuits. While state law prohibits pursuits, a policy that the SPD adopted before its passage, DUI suspects are treated differently. Under the law, police may pursue suspects in vehicles if there’s reasonable suspicion of DUI because of the threat they pose on the roads.
