Fairfax County Police proposes ending pursuits for traffic violations, other nonviolent crimes

This pickup crashed after a police chase in Herndon in 2017. Eight people were hospitalized. [FCPD]

Several people said ending police pursuits for traffic incidents would encourage more speeding and red-light running at the Fairfax County Police Department’s community meeting on a proposed policy to curb pursuits. 

Those kinds of pursuits lead to accidents that endanger the public, said FCPD Major Bob Blakley, chair of the FPCD committee charged with reviewing the pursuit policy and commander of the FCPD’s Division II Patrol Division. 

The policy recommendation also calls for the FCPD to end pursuits in these situations:

• The person being pursued has a prior offense involving the threat or use of violence.
• Non-violent felonies;
• Certain misdemeanors; and
• An offense outside Fairfax County that doesn’t meet FCPD standards for pursuits.

The changes are being made to bring the FCPD policy in line with best practices and with the pursuit policies used in other jurisdictions in the D.C. region. 

The FCPD would continue police chases for:

• A violent felony; 
• A threat or use of a firearm;
• Situations authorized by the commander;
• Pursuit of motorcycles; and
• Pursuits from another police department that meet FCPD standards. 

Under the current policy, FPCD “allows pursuits for just about any reason,” Blakley said. 

The police will still be able to pursue a suspect wanted for murder, rape, carjacking, and family sexual violence. “We believe the community would want us to chase them,” he said. 

More speeding and red-light running

Several people expressed concerns about the end of traffic pursuits leading to more people disregarding traffic laws. Speeding and red-light running are already rampant and will get worse, said one participant. And someone else said a pursuit would cause a drunk person to drive faster, noting “drunk drivers kill people; their weapon is their car.” 

If someone is killed in a crash involving a pursuit for a traffic offense, it would be devastating, Blakley said. Sixty-three percent of pursuits nationally end in crashes, and it’s most often the fault of the person being pursued, he said.  

If the police chase someone who ran a red light and that person crashes causing the loss of life, Blakley said, “I don’t think the community would support that. I don’t feel comfortable with that.” 

In 2020, there were six injuries resulting from a pursuit in Fairfax County. Five involving the offender, and one involving an officer. In all those cases, the offender was at fault. Since 2017, there were 12 injuries to a bystander resulting from a police chase.

In 2017, a pursuit on Centreville Road led to the vehicle being chased hitting a family in a van resulting in 12-year-old girl being seriously injured, a participant noted. 

“Do we feel comfortable knocking on your door at 2 in the morning saying a family member was killed during a police pursuit? I believe our community doesn’t want that,” Blakley said. 

If the police see a potential DWI driver, “we won’t just give up,” he said. Police will get the driver’s tag number and address and confront them when they get home. 

In many cases, when the police pursue someone presumed to be drunk because they are speeding or weaving in and out of lanes, they turn out to be not intoxicated.  

The proposed policy doesn’t address police use of the precision immobilization technique (PIT), in which an officer rams the read end of a vehicle sideways forcing it into a spin. According to a June 11 Washington Post article, the PIT maneuver has killed at least 30 people and injured hundreds since 2016. 

The FCPD allows the PIT maneuver now and it “will still be allowed,” Blakley said. 

Non-violent offenses 

Someone asked whether police would pursue someone for a weapons violation if they weren’t behind the wheel. 

A suspect wanted for reckless discharge – involving the threat or display of a firearm – which is a Class 1 misdemeanor, could be pursued if they flee from the police, Blakley said. 

But police would no longer pursue people in the case of a single shoplifting event, the threat of violence, or nonviolent felonies, as well as traffic incidents.

Blakley gave an example of a reckless discharge of a firearm by someone standing in a yard: The police get multiple 911 calls about shots fired and the suspect leaving in a blue car. When officers arrive and see a blue car speeding out of the neighborhood, they would pursue it. 

Someone else suggested the police recommendation to not pursue people for felony theft would lead to more shoplifting. Blakley said the police will continue investigating these cases using security camera footage to identify the suspect. 

In 2020, Fairfax County police have been involved in 145 pursuits. The most common reasons were for moving and non-moving violations (65 pursuits), stolen autos (23), other criminal incidents (23), DWI (16), and reckless driving (14).

The public is invited to submit comments on the recommended policy change for police pursuits.