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Police chases bring more than just criminal charges
By JODI PREISLER HARRISBURG, Pa – You hear about high-speed chases all the time, they happen in big cities and small towns across the nation. Some stories appear in newspapers, others make headlines on the six o’clock evening news. Who has not at least heard about the pursuit of O.J. Simpson in 1994 along a California freeway? O.J. eventually surrendered, as do other suspects involved in some pursuits. In devastating cases of vehicular homicide the suspect faces criminal charges. Not all pursuits, however, result in injuries or death, but they often involve property damage. So who is responsible for providing money to pay for injuries and damages resulting from criminal pursuit? The Harrisburg Police Department has a “no pursuit” policy. This means that officers need approval from their commanding officer to pursue a suspect. A rare exception to this policy occurred last year when a suspect wounded an officer, then fled. Under those circumstances, the police pursued the suspect before officially receiving approval from their commander. According to Harrisburg Police Accreditation Officer Bruce Garman, the department has been involved in three pursuits so far this year, two of which ended with injuries and/or damages. On one routine traffic stop, as officers approached the violator’s vehicle, the driver threw the car in reverse and rammed into the police cruiser as the officers jumped to get out of the way. The officers were not injured and jumped into the damaged cruiser to pursue the suspect. Another incident involved the pursuit of Joseph Ackley, a 36-year-old parole violator, who led police on a dangerous chase through three area counties. The pursuit of Ackley, who was driving a stolen vehicle, was eventually called off due to safety concerns for officers and civilians. The state police picked up where Harrisburg police left off, but poor weather conditions eventually halted the pursuit. Soon after it ended, Ackley lost control of the stolen vehicle and slammed into two other vehicles, causing severe damage to the cars and injuring the two drivers. Both drivers were flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. Ackley abandoned the wrecked vehicle and stole a nearby pickup truck to return to Harrisburg. Police again spotted him and began another high-speed chase. Ackley rammed the police cruiser in an attempt to run them off the road. He later plowed into a state police cruiser before slamming into a guardrail. Garman said incidents like these are first investigated, either by the department or the state police, to determine who is at fault. If the fault lies with the suspect, then he or she is held accountable to pay for damages and medical expenses, usually through his or her personal insurance carrier. “Normally, it’s not our fault,” Garman said. If the suspect does not have insurance or other means to pay, then the department seeks restitution from him or her. But that could take a long time, so officers often use their own medical insurance to defray costs and the department finds other means to pay for repairs to the vehicles. Garman said these costs are not really considered part of the budget but “the assumption is that a standard number of officers will be injured during the year, and X amount of money will be spent on vehicle maintenance.” This year’s budget included a nearly 43 percent increase for vehicle repairs and maintenance while routine maintenance repairs and service contracts saw a decrease of more than 12 percent. This might have something to do with last year’s ten police chases, although Garman was unsure of the exact amount the department spent on damages sustained in those incidents. When all else fails, Garman said, “we just have to find the money.” The department compensates by drawing funds from other areas of the budget. “We can always go without office supplies if we have to,” Garman said.
You may email comments about this story to: jep146@psu.edu |
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