It was not immediately fully clear how a proposed policy might have affected decisions to start two high-profile chases in 2021, lawyers said.
Friday closed out one of the last chapters of a nearly 10-month process to finalize the Chicago Police Department’s foot-pursuit policy after multiple public comment sessions, coming the same week the family of a man killed by police during one such chase last spring filed suit.
Whatever the final policy is, it will provide the first official, completed guidelines for Chicago police officers who engage in foot pursuits. “Focusing on professionalization, it means that our officers are asking certain questions before they act. And again, sometimes, that process happens in an instant. But that’s where training comes in,” Boik said. “… I
Language in the policy reflects recommendations from experts and rules that other departments have already implemented, including, for example, that officers weigh factors such as whether there are other means that could achieve the apprehension of a suspect, whether the officer is alone and whether there are other supports available, such as a helicopter, to assist. It also instructs officers to consider if the subject could be arrested at a later time.
“This policy far short of providing the necessary protections and in many ways just reinforces the dangerous practice of using foot pursuits,” Bedi said, adding that a higher probable cause standard should be used. “When they terminate the pursuit there are other things they have to do attempt to set up a perimeter,” he said. “Terminating a pursuit does not absolve that person from taking law enforcement action. This is not a mechanism to stop pursuing people. It is a mechanism to make sure we are doing it safely.”
“While CPD finally recognizes the perilous nature of foot chases by armed officers, it lacks other critical protections,” Michelle Garcia, deputy legal director at the ACLU of Illinois, said in an emailed statement, pointing to the language that allows officers to chase people suspected of misdemeanors like shoplifting and some traffic offenses.