Montgomery County police were involved in 41 vehicle pursuits in 2018, 14 fewer than in 2017, according to a new report.
The number of chases in the county increased every year from 2014 to 2017, with a 10-year average of 40 pursuits a year, according to past reports.
The report, released annually, contains details about the police districts where the pursuit occurred, the justifications for them and their duration. It does not include chases by state police or the sheriff’s office.
Capt. Tom Jordan, a police spokesman, was unable to provide a reason for last year’s decline.
The police district encompassing Wheaton, Glenmont, Aspen Hill and Olney saw the highest number of pursuits in the county, with 12 in 2018. The Rockville district, which also includes Poolesville and parts of Derwood, had the lowest number with two pursuits. The Bethesda district, which includes Potomac and Kensington, saw five pursuits.
Police chases in Montgomery County are only authorized when officers have reason to believe a felony has been committed, is driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or has been involved in a hit-and-run collision, according to county police pursuit policy.
Twenty-four pursuits were started because of suspicion of felony offenses, according to the 2018 report, and 12 were due to suspicion of driving under the influence.
The policy was last revised in 2009, Jordan said in an email. Jordan said he did not know of any reason in particular for the changes, “other than updating the policy to remain current with all applicable laws.”
The policy mandates that officers should receive immediate approval from a sworn supervisor to continue a pursuit in all cases except for pursuits for “felonies of a violent type,” or felonies that pose a risk of serious physical injury or death.
Under Maryland law, crimes such as robberies and hit-and-runs are classified as felonies, while driving under the influence is a misdemeanor.
County policy also states that pursuits based on belief of misdemeanor offenses cannot be continued into other counties or states, or into Washington, but pursuits for felonies of a violent type may do so.
Police chases have come under scrutiny nationwide and have prompted debate about risks versus benefits. A 2015 USA Today analysis found that more than 5,000 bystanders and passengers have been killed in police pursuits since 1979.
Of the 41 pursuits in Montgomery County in 2018, 21 resulted in a collision, with 19 damaged suspect vehicles, 12 damaged civilian vehicles, and one suspect and one civilian injured, according to the report. No police officers were injured during the pursuits.
Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, said that regulations that dictate the situations in which police should pursue potential suspects should be “very restrictive.”
“One of the challenges is, you have 18,000 police departments in this country and there are no national standards,” he said.
“I do think there should be guidelines that departments can use as models, as many agencies don’t have the resources and research divisions that would allow them to know best practices,” he said in an email. “Montgomery County’s policy is a good example of what other departments could learn from and smaller agencies sometimes look to these larger agencies for guidance.”
The county police department has been accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, or CALEA, since 1993.
“If an agency is [accredited] or does participate in the CALEA accreditation, they’re required to have a policy that defines the criteria under which a pursuit can be initiated,” said Laura Saunders, mid-Atlantic program manager for CALEA.
Saunders sees both the risks involved with police pursuits as well as how they might be necessary.
“Sometimes I always put myself in that situation as far as thinking, if I were a community member and my local law enforcement was allowed to pursue, and they pursued for something … that didn’t really rise … to the level of the need to pursue, and a family member or myself got injured because of that, then I wouldn’t be happy about it,” Saunders said.
“But then on the contrary, if somebody injured a family member, and law enforcement saw the suspect and didn’t pursue because of agency policy against it, then I wouldn’t be happy about that either. So it’s really a catch-22 there.”
