High speed police chase cases kill hundreds of people each year throughout this country and injure thousands. One-third (1/3) of those injured or killed are the fleeing suspects. The majority of the remaining two-thirds (2/3) of those injured or killed in such cases involve innocent third parties having nothing whatsoever to do with the police chase incident. Finch McCranie, LLP has represented numerous families who have been victimized by reckless chases undertaken by officers acting in disregard of the rights of the innocent motoring public. While these officers are typically chasing in order to capture the suspect, oftentimes the officers disregard the pursuit policies and procedures of their own police departments and continue the chase well after it becomes clear that the danger to innocent members of the motoring public substantially outweighs the need to apprehend the suspect.

A typical example of the case that our firm sees is a situation where police are chasing a driver for a broken taillight or some other minor offense. If the police chase such an offender at highs speeds, obviously, the need to apprehend the suspect is far less than is the danger presented to the public by the high speed pursuit. Experience indicates that every year with hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries that high speed pursuits are very dangerous. Indeed, more people in the United States are killed by high speed pursuits than they are by police firearms. And yet, we know from experience that these pursuits continue year after year. The challenge is to convince police departments to modify their pursuit policies to only chase offenders when it is safe to do so and typically to only chase them when forcible felonies are involved.

In a minor case such as a shoplifting incident, it makes little or no sense for the police to pursue such a suspect at high speeds in a metropolitan area where it is likely that serious injury or death will result if a collision occurs. Our firm has handled such cases where a fleeing shoplifter ran a red light and crashed into an innocent third party motorist killing 3 or more people in the same vehicle. It makes no sense at all for the police to chase such a suspect because the need to apprehend the suspect is far outweighed by the need to terminate the chase and thereby eliminate the danger to the innocent members of the public who happen to be on the roadway at the time of the chase. In short, the best pursuit policies are those which emphasize that the police must always be cognizant of the fact that during any chase innocent members of the motoring public can be killed or injured thus requiring them to carefully assess whether the need to apprehend the suspect is greater than is the need to protect the public from the dangers presented by the chase. Experience has indicated that oftentimes the best procedure that police officers should employ during a high speed pursuit is simply to terminate the pursuit and let the offender go particularly where the offender is being sought for a non-violent act which does not present a substantial danger to the community which, of course, is far different from the chase itself which does present a substantial danger to the community.

When the police chase a suspect for a non-violent act or a minor offense, and someone is killed, then quite literally, the death penalty is being imposed on the innocent whereas the suspect is only wanted for a minor offense. Police departments throughout the country have pursuit policies which govern their conduct and yet experience indicates that many times the average patrol officer receives little or no training about the terms of such policies. The most enlightened police departments throughout the country have established either no chase policies or chase policies only for forcible felonies. It is very interesting to note that in those no chase jurisdictions, crime has not gone up simply because "the bad guy" has been let go. Typically, license information and other investigative techniques can be employed to catch the person who is being released rather than to continue to pursue them at high speeds and thereby endanger innocent third parties.

Finch McCranie has been involved in numerous wrongful death cases, brain injuries and other serious injury cases where it has had the privilege of representing totally innocent third parties caught up in unwise and unwarranted police chases. Literally, the only thing the clients do in these cases is be at the wrong place at the wrong time. They are simply coming down the road, minding their own business, lawfully obeying all traffic laws and regulations when suddenly the speeding suspect and/or a police car come careening towards them. Because of the high speeds involved in such matters, typically when a collision does occur, it is going to be a bad one. And when these collisions occur at speeds in excess of 80, 90 or over 100 miles per hour, death is often the end result. Indeed, in Georgia for well over a decade, approximately 20 innocent third party victims each year are killed in high speed police chase cases.

Fortunately for the citizens of Georgia, years ago, the Georgia Legislature enacted O.C.G.A. § 40-6-6 which allows a private citizen to sue a police department for the reckless disregard of proper police procedure during the initiation or continuation of a high speed pursuit. Proper police procedure does not allow high speed pursuits under any and all circumstances. Typically, proper police procedure requires that pursuits may only be initiated or continued under circumstances where it is safe to do so. If the danger to the public presented by the high speed pursuit outweighs the need to apprehend the suspect, then proper police procedure requires the officer to terminate the chase and let the suspect go.

Georgia law does not require a police officer to terminate a chase involving a forcible felony or dangerous suspect such as a suspected murderer, rapist or kidnapper. If a murderer, rapist or kidnapper is being chased by the police, proper police procedure is to catch such a suspect because he or she presents a danger to the community if not apprehended. However, if the fleeing suspect is only wanted for a minor traffic offense or some other non-violent crime, it makes little or no sense to chase on a crowded roadway. Proper police procedure requires that a chase be terminated where busy roads are involved and where many innocent motorists are on the roadway where the chase is occurring. Regrettably, the adrenalin associated with such chases overtakes the officer's judgment on many occasions and thus proper police procedure also requires that there be adequate supervision by a supervising officer on duty at the time who can make objective decisions concerning the pursuit. If proper training is involved and if proper police procedure is followed, an objective and detached supervisor can order the termination of the chase provided the pursuing officer complies with his policy and notifies the supervising officer of the conditions under which the chase is being taken, the reason the chase has been undertaken to begin with and the dangers presented by the chase as it is occurring. If proper police procedure is followed, and those cases where the need to apprehend is outweighed by the dangers to the public, the supervising official will terminate the chase and thereby protect the innocent from serious injury or death.

If you or a loved one have been injured by a high speed police chase case, you should confer with counsel immediately. Oftentimes, there are ante litem pre-suit requirements under state law which must be met. If you do not timely confer with counsel, your legal rights can be unwittingly waived because of the ignorance of such pre-suit filing requirements. Finch McCranie, LLP has substantial experience in filing ante-litem notices for innocent third party victims of police chase cases and has presented such claims not only throughout the counties surrounding metropolitan Atlanta but throughout the State of Georgia. For a free initial consultation concerning such a case, call 1-800-228-9159. You may also contact us online.