In "Evading Arrest By Fleeing In A Car Should Be Made A Felony" (5-23-09), I wrote that "when a driver attempts to evade arrest, he turns his automobile into a deadly weapon. A person who points a gun at another is committing a felony – aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. And that is exactly what a fleeing driver is doing. The time is way past due for a change in our laws. Evading arrest by fleeing in a car should not be treated as a misdemeanor - it should be made a felony the same way that pointing a gun at someone is a felony."
To its credit, the Chicago Police Department tried to do something about these high speed car chases by authorizing officers to shoot at a fleeing car if the driver or passengers are suspected of committing a felony. But then the city council stepped in and nixed that new policy. It was all about the money – the fear of potential wrongful death, excessive force and other chase-related lawsuits.
The two stories follow:
POLICY WOULD ALLOW COPS TO SHOOT AT FLEEING CARS
By Mike Krauser
CBS -WBBM 780
July 29, 2009
CHICAGO --- The Chicago Police Department is considering a major change in policy regarding the use of deadly force.
The department is looking at allowing police officers to fire their guns under circumstances where they previously could not.
The new policy, from police Supt. Jody Weis and confirmed by WBBM Newsradio 780 Wednesday morning, would allow police officers to shoot at fleeing vehicles if the driver or passengers are suspected of committing a felony.
Earlier today, a police spokesman told Newsradio 780 that the policy would take effect on Monday.
"Now officers will be able to fire upon the driver or passenger in a vehicle if that person is a forcible fleeing felon, someone who has committed a very serious offense resulting in bodily harm or has threatened to commit great bodily harm," Drew told Newsradio 780.
The old policy allowed officers only to shoot at vehicles that pose a threat to them or others, such as if the driver were trying to run down the officer.
Later Wednesday, the department issued a statement saying the plan was under review.
The department is "currently reviewing the existing order [to] provide officers with more clear direction. The review process is ongoing and will not be rushed."
POLICE PULL BACK ON NEW DEADLY FORCE POLICY
Officers Would Be Allowed To Shoot At Fleeing Vehicles
CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
July 30, 2009
CHICAGO --- Chicago Police have pulled back a major policy change that would give officers much more leeway in using deadly force.
On Wednesday, the Chicago Police Department confirmed that Supt. Jody Weis gave an order allowing officers to shoot at drivers or passengers in fleeing vehicles if the driver or passengers are suspected of committing a felony.
A spokesman Wednesday told WBBM Newsradio 780 that the policy would take effect on Monday.
"Now officers will be able to fire upon the driver or passenger in a vehicle if that person is a forcible fleeing felon, someone who has committed a very serious offense resulting in bodily harm or has threatened to commit great bodily harm," police News Affairs Director Roderick Drew said.
But later in the day, it turned out that the change was not cleared with City Hall, and thus may not be instituted. An ordinance was also introduced Wednesday that would require the approval of the City Council for a change in policy regarding deadly force.
Mayor Richard M. Daley told reporters that Weis' policy group had "not changed anything" -- that they are simply attempting to reconcile conflicting general orders. "That's what they're trying to figure out. Nothing more. They're just looking at it. If you have general orders that conflict with one another, you should look at it," the mayor said.
Corporation Counsel Mara Georges said Weis is "reviewing language of existing general orders and just beginning that review. ... There has been no policy change. It is inaccurate to say anything has been issued or anything is going into effect."
Either way, aldermen are not taking any chances.
At Wednesday's City Council meeting, Police Committee Chairman Isaac Carothers (29th) introduced an ordinance that would require Council approval before any change in general orders concerning the use of deadly force. Carothers pointed to a pair of 1999 police shootings over a 24-hour period that killed two unarmed civilians in motor vehicles.
"Let's not forget what happened in the LaTanya Haggerty case, which cost the city a lot of money [$18 million], and the [Robert] Russ case, which cost an awful lot of money [$9.6 million] with police officers firing their weapons," Carothers said. "
They already have a right to fire weapons in their own self-defense and in the defense of others. To go further than that -- the liability could be tremendous."
Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th), a former Chicago Police officer, agreed that City Hall should have the final say.
"There's rarely a Finance [Committee] meeting that goes by without a settlement of a police case due to excessive force, wrongful imprisonment, false arrest. There's a plethora of these cases out there," he said.
"The corporate authorities -- certainly the corporation counsel -- ought to be consulted before there's any change in the policy."
A 26-year-old computer analyst, LaTanya Haggerty was shot to death on June 4, 1999, after her companion, Raymond Smith, led police on a 31-block chase through the South Side -- a chase that was not authorized by police officials.
Russ, a 22-year-old Northwestern University football player just 10 days short of his college graduation, was shot to death hours later during a traffic stop. He did not stop for three miles -- even after police ordered him to do so.
The back-to-back police shootings touched off a tension-filled summer of protests about alleged police brutality.
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