Police Chase | Law enforcement leaders talk about pursuit policies and when to pursue

A day after innocent people were injured in a police chase in Garner, ABC11 asked local police leadership questions.

“It’s just so awful,” said Aiyanna Parker, whose car was wrecked in the middle of the chase Monday night. “I’m just thinking, I’m going to the grocery store.”

This is one of a handful of chases in the past two months, including one in Spring Lake that reached speeds of up to 150 mph. In another chase earlier this month, four people were hospitalized after a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 501 that began with a chase by a Person County police officer.

SEE ALSO | 2 in custody in connection with attempted theft that led to chase and crash in Wake Forest

“You have to remember that every pursuit is different,” said Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood. “The public expects us to arrest those who commit crimes, unless that expectation dissolves, then we will pursue those who commit crimes.”

Its officers pursue the driver, taking into account factors such as weather, traffic conditions and the driver’s aggressiveness. They are also trained in when to pursue and when not to.

“One of the techniques is for the supervisor to say, ‘Call the officer by his first name,'” Blackwood said. “In my case, Charles. ‘Is it worth it?’ That wakes them up from whatever they’re focusing on. Not that it makes them fall asleep, but they’re very focused on what they’re doing.”

However, his way of thinking differs from that of neighboring agencies.

“A community should be monitored by an authority as it wishes,” he said.

Eddie Caldwell is the executive director of the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association.

“You can’t just ignore lawlessness for the sake of convenience,” he said via Zoom from the national conference in Oklahoma City. “There is no one-size-fits-all policy, and decisions have to be made on a fact-based basis.”

Caldwell also pointed out that Oklahoma City plays a role. He said Timothy McVeigh was stopped by a police officer who noticed the car had no license plate.

“Most people who run away when signaled to stop are not doing so because of a traffic violation or other incident,” Caldwell said. “They are doing it because they have done something else, they are wanted.”

The North Carolina Association of Police Chiefs said chases would be based on the wishes of the public. ABC11 also reached out to the North Carolina Highway Patrol but received no response.