POLICE HIGH SPEED CHASE POLICIES

House Bill 4233 as introduced

Sponsor:  Rep. Sheldon A. Neeley

Committee:  Local Government

Complete to 11-29-16

SUMMARY:

House Bill 4233 would create a "State Police Motor Vehicle Pursuit Policy Act," which would prescribe conformity with local policies for peace officers in pursuit, in hopes of ensuring the safety of officers and civilians.

When pursuing a suspect in a municipality, Michigan State Police (MSP) would be required to conduct the pursuit in conformity with the municipality's local pursuit policy.  If the municipality has adopted a local pursuit policy, a peace officer in the municipality may order the end of a pursuit conducted by state police if the pursuit does not comply with the local policy.  If the municipality does not have a local pursuit policy, state police must conduct the pursuit in accordance with the policies of the Department of State Police.

A peace officer initiating a motor vehicle pursuit would be required to notify the dispatcher of the following, immediately:

·         Known violation or reason for the pursuit;

·         Description of the pursued vehicle;

·         Location and direction of travel of the pursued vehicle;

·         Speed of the pursued vehicle;

·         Number of known occupants in the vehicle; and

·         Type of weapons in the vehicle, if known.

If the pursuit continues into another county, city, village, or township which has not been notified of the information above, any peace officer involved in the pursuit may give that notice to the local dispatcher. 

Definitions

·         Local pursuit policy means a written policy in a municipality providing the standards by which a peace officer within the boundaries of that municipality may conduct motor vehicle pursuits.

·         Motor vehicle pursuit means an active attempt by a peace officer, who is operating a motor vehicle, to apprehend an individual, who is also operating a motor vehicle, while the individual is trying to avoid capture by using high-speed driving or other evasive tactics, including, but not limited to, driving off any surface, excluding interstate highways, that accommodates motor vehicle or pedestrian traffic, making sudden or unexpected movements, or driving on the wrong side of the road.

·         Peace officer means a sheriff or sheriff's deputy, a village or township marshal, an officer of the police department of any city, village, or township, an officer of the department of state police, or any peace officer who is trained and certified under the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards Act.

This bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.

BACKGROUND:

This bill is understood to address a recent increase in the number of people killed in police pursuits in Michigan, which peaked at 27 deaths at 2014, with 21 deaths in 2015.  Fatal crashes occurred in Bay, Calhoun, Emmet, Kalamazoo, Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties in 2015.  In several of those cases, the individuals killed were not those being pursued by police. 

http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/21_killed_in_police_pursuit_cr.html

FISCAL IMPACT:

This bill would have an indeterminate, but likely minimal fiscal impact on the Michigan State Police (MSP) related to training personnel operating in Secure Cities Partnership municipalities on local pursuit policies and new operating procedures. Currently, the Secure Cities Partnership includes Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park, Inkster, Muskegon Heights, Pontiac, and Saginaw.

                                                                                        Legislative Analyst:   Jenny McInerney

                                                                                                Fiscal Analyst:   Kent Dell

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.