by Nick Castele
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine plans to come up with a police vehicle pursuit policy that local law enforcement agencies could choose to adopt.
DeWine will convene an advisory group on the subject Wednesday.
The 12-member volunteer group includes police officers, judges, the Geauga County prosecutor and a member of the Cleveland NAACP. They’ll hear from experts and draw up a model policy for law enforcement agencies to consider.
DeWine said this group is similar to a panel he brought together to develop police training recommendations.
He said he wants to evaluate the risks of high-speed chases to bystanders.
“If you have a violent offender who is armed, you can certainly come up with a scenario by which the high-speed chase makes sense,” DeWine said. “But there are other circumstances, when you have a traffic stop or a traffic situation, where a high-speed chase may not make any sense at all.”
DeWine’s office investigated the high-speed cross-town chase that ended in a fatal shooting in East Cleveland in 2012 and involved more than 60 law enforcement vehicles.
