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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Statement 1988/07/19 Item 04 COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT ITEM TITLE: I tern 4 Meeting Date,#l1hll~ Resolution /J~ 70 Adopt Police Department Vehicle Pursuit Policy ,\ Director of PUbli~1~ety City Manager ,)~~ (4/5ths Vote: Yes No X ) SUBMITTED BY: REVIEWED BY: January 1,1988, Vehicle Code Section 17004.7 was amended to provide immunity from liability for civil damages for personal injury, death or property damage caused by a vehicle which is being pursued by a peace officer. This immunity is subject to an agency's adoption of a formalized Vehicle Pursuit Policy which meets some minimum policy requirements. In the interim, the Police Department has adopted such a pol icy. To ensure comp 1 i ance wi th the new 1 aw requiring formal adoption of the pol icy it is recommended that the Council adopt the policy. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt the resolution. ~OARDS/COMMISSIONS RECOMMENDATION: Not applicable. .,iSCUSS ION: Pri or to January 1988, the 1 aw provi ded that a pub 1 i c entity was 1 i ab 1 e for death or injury to person or property damage in any vehicle chase in which the perpetrator I s car caused i nj ury or damage was the 1 i abil i ty of the agency pursuing the perpetrator. State Assembly Bills 1912 (Stirling) and 1173, (W. Brown) were adopted to reduce the liability of jurisdictions for civil damages resulting from police chases. The new bills provide immunity from liability for civil damages as a result of a vehicle chase provided the jurisdiction adopts a formal vehicle pursuit policy which meets the following minimum standards: 1. There shall be supervisory control of the pursuit, if available. 2. The policy includes procedures for designating the primary pursuit vehicle and for determining the total number of vehicles to be permitted to participate in a pursuit at one time. 3. The policy includes procedures for coordinating operations with other jurisdictions. 4. The policy includes guidelines for determining when public safety and effective law enforcement justify a and when a vehicular pursuit should terminated. the interests of vehicular pursuit d be by the City Council of Chula Vista, California 7 I if ~ d 2f,jt by the City ounei! of Chula Vista, Cc:llfomia Dated ~ I ~j "') (J (~ Page 2, Item 4 Meeting Date 1-/-12/&f3 1/lr/f~ POLICE DEPARTMENT VEHICULAR PURSUIT POLICY The Police Department amended their vehicular pursuit policy as of May 12, 1988 (see Attachment I). The revised policy is to pursue all violators whose escape waul d jeopardi ze pub 1 i c safety, whenever such pursui t can be accomplished without unreasonably endangering the officer or the public. The attached policy has been revised to meet the requirement of the'amended vehicle code. In general a high speed pursuit is only supported when the escape of the person being pursued poses a serious threat to publi~ safety, for example, murder, rape, armed assault, or an extremely erratic driver. High speed pursuits are not justified based on traffic violations alone. When a pursuit is begun, the officer must immediately relay information to the dispatch center describing the vehicle and occupant(s), nature of the cr~~, road conditions, location and direction of travel and the speeds involved. The Watch Commander and/or Field Sergeant is notified immediately and will monitor the pursuit by radio until it is over. Interjurisdictional Pursuits ;'~i . ..During a pursuit, the vehicle may cross jurisdictional boundaries. To handle ,is event, we have established a County-wide pursuit policy which will I,('ovide for notification to the jurisdiction being entered. In most circumstances, the initiating agency will maintain the lead on the pursuit through other jurisdictions. If responsibility is transferred to another agency, the initiating agency must abandon their pursuit. Under no circumstances will pursuing vehicles from Chula Vista cross the International Border. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no cost to the City as a result of adoption of the policy. In the long term, this policy may save the City money in future liability claims. WPC 0l36N / (~lr '? if ".,.....---".. ---....>--.-.---------...-.-.