Police Pursuits & The Liability

p Police pursuits and the Liability

Police pursuits and the Liability

Dated : _____________________

By : _________________ Police pursuits and liability is no doubt a vast subject which has given rise to many schools of thought . On one hand , it is believed that pursuits are worth the risks that are taken while on the other hand , a completely opposed school believes that pursuit activities are far too dangerous and should be abandoned . Whatever be the belief , the truth lies somewhere in between regarding police pursuits and liability which in to explore one

must review various aspects of legal and moral legal decisions to analyze police pursuit driving and its potential liability

Laws regulating police pursuits are both criminal and civil and differ among states and other jurisdictions . General principles of liability which are applicable to police pursuit driving include the following Duty owned , proximate cause , immunity , Federal civil rights act , suits by injured officers and criminal prosecutions (Alpert Dunham , 1990 br

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Certain duties and obligations of police officers must be determined by local policies , regulations , customs , and laws . It is accepted that a police officer can initiate the stop of an automobile for any particularly violation or suspected criminal offence . If a motorist refuses to stop , an officer has no duty to refrain from pursuing , even where there is some risk of harm to the public . However , police must act with a duty of care and reasonableness when pursuing the offender . This duty is created from state statutes , case law , and departmental policies and practices . In most jurisdictions , the departmental pursuit policy procedure , practice , training , and proper supervision can all help determine the duty owed . When a claim of negligence is made , a court may admit into evidence the information that has guided the police pursuit 's actions . Specifically , the method by which officers determine the nature of the real or apparent emergency , the conduct during the pursuit and reason for not terminating the pursuit are all significant factors that must be weighed when determining the due regard for safety . The most important concern for a police officer is to be aware of the action taken at the end of a pursuit . In other words a police officer must know what actions to take if the pursued refuses to terminate voluntarily

Liability must be based on evidence that police conduct in breaching a duty owed was the proximate cause of a pursuit-related injury . On one hand , if a police car speeds recklessly through a school zone when children are present , such a determination can be made easily . On the other hand , if there is an intervening influence , such as other drivers or pedestrians , then determining negligence becomes increasingly difficult

Primary Pursuit responsibilities include unit notification responsibilities : Immediately notify the Communications Bureau that a pursuit is underway and provide the information like 1 ) Unit radio number 2 ) The speed and direction of travel 3 ) The main reason for the pursuit for which the laws are violated 4 ) Vehicle or license number...