THERE'S AN UPSIDE FOR THIS ..... COPS CAN DRINK AS MUCH BEER AND EAT AS MANY DONUTS AS THEY LIKE

Chicago cops barred from chasing people on foot who run away 

 

By Snejana Farberov

 

 

New York Post 

June 22, 2022

 

 

The policy prohibits officers from chasing people on foot simply because they run away. The policy also encourages cops to “consider alternatives” to pursuing someone who “is visibly carrying a firearm.”

 

The Chicago Police Department has unveiled a new policy prohibiting its officers from chasing people on foot simply because they run away, or because they have committed minor offenses.

The policy, which was introduced Tuesday, also encourages cops to “consider alternatives” to pursuing someone who “is visibly armed with a firearm.”

Under the policy, officers may give chase if they believe a person is committing or is about to commit a felony, a Class A misdemeanor such as domestic battery, or a serious traffic offense that could risk injuring others, such as drunken driving or street racing.

Perhaps most significantly, the new policy makes clear that the days of officers giving chase just because someone tries to get away from them are over. 

“People may avoid contact with a member for many reasons other than involvement in criminal activity,” the policy states.

The long-awaited foot chase ban is expected to go into effect by the end of the summer, after the city’s 11,900 uniformed cops receive training.

The new policy comes more than a year after two foot pursuits ended with cops fatally shooting 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez in separate March 2021 incidents.

Toledo and Alvarez, who were armed when they ran from police in separate March 2021 pursuits, were not mentioned in the news release announcing the policy or the policy itself.

Toledo was shot in the chest after dropping a gun and raising his hands, and Alvarez was shot in the back while brandishing a gun.

 

Anthony Alvarez seen on the ground after being shot during a police chase on March 31, 2021

The daughter of Anthony Alvarez holds a sign reading “I miss my daddy” during a protest in Chicago

Mayor Lori Lightfoot demanded that the department create an interim policy after the March 2021 shootings and the county’s top prosecutor harshly criticized police over the Alvarez pursuit.

But back in April 2021, Lightfoot acknowledged that having police officers seek permission from a supervisor before engaging in a foot pursuit was not ideal. 

“I don’t want people out there who are dangerous to think, ‘Well, if I just run, then I’m safe. I can continue to wreak havoc,'” the mayor said. “We can’t live in that world, either.”

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters Tuesday that police had been discussing a foot pursuit policy “for several years before those shootings happened.”

He said he expects the new rules will make the officers and the public safer, as has happened in other cities that have adopted similar policies.

“The impact on crime has been studied (and) we can look back at what has made officers safer, has made communities safer for over a decade,” he said at a press briefing.

The new policy includes a number of circumstances in which an officer must call off a chase, including a requirement that the pursuit must end if a third party is injured and needs immediate medical attention that can’t be provided by anyone else.

If officers realize they do not know exactly where they are, which is possible in a chaotic situation in which they are running through alleys and between houses, they must stop. And if they find themselves unable to communicate with other officers, because they drop their radios or for another reason, they must stop.

 

Adam Toledo after being shot during a police chase on March 29, 2021

The policy also makes a point of reminding officers that they or their supervisors will not be criticized or disciplined for deciding against a foot pursuit or calling one off.

Officers are also prohibited from provoking chases, such as by employing a tactic in which they speed in their squad cars toward a group of people, stop suddenly and jump out “with the intention of stopping anyone in the group who flees.”

Other major cities, such as Baltimore, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, have already implemented similar foot pursuit policies — and the dangers surrounding such chases have been a topic in the Windy City for years.

The policy comes after years of discussion about the danger of foot chases.

Five years ago, the US Department of Justice issued a scathing report saying that too many police chases in the city were unnecessary or ended with officers shooting people they did not have to shoot. And three years ago, a judge signed off on a consent decree that included a requirement to adopt a foot pursuit policy.

A Chicago Tribune investigation found that a third of the city’s police shootings from 2010 through 2015 involved someone being wounded or killed during a foot pursuit.

The policy change, however, has sparked a backlash from conservative commentators, including Chicago talk radio host Bill Cameron, who tweeted: “So, if cops can’t chase bad guys, and judges won’t keep so many of them in jail and the states (sic) attorney so often won’t prosecute them, why is it called law enforcement? #Crime”

Andrew Wilkow, the host of “The Wilkow Majority” on SiriusXMPatriot, sarcastically remarked of the fleeing suspects: “But what if they are white guys in #MAGA hats with a rope and bleach?”

Many Twitter users slammed Democrats for the new policy and expressed concern that it would lead to even higher crime rates in Chicago.

“This will embolden criminals & make the city even more dangerous,” tweeted Paul Vallas, former Chicago Public Schools CEO who is running for mayor of Chicago in 2023. “We need MORE proactive policing, not less!”

Another critic Sean Wilson opined: “If you think crime can’t get any worse in Chicago–just wait. Democrats want to disarm law abiding Americans while ignoring crime and refusing to protect the public.”

The ban on police foot chases was introduced against the backdrop of Chicago’s sky-high crime rates.

The latest figures from the Chicago PD indicate that while murders and shootings in the Second City were down 11% and 17%, respectively, as of June 19 — compared to the same period last year — nearly all other offenses were significantly up.

Thefts jumped a whopping 65%, car thefts increased 40%, and burglaries registered a 31% year-over-year spike. Overall, crime in Chicago was up 34% compared to June 2021.