Since taking office in 2023, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel updated the department’s policies on vehicle pursuits, including easing restrictions on the use of a potentially dangerous tactic.
The tactic, commonly referred to as a “PIT,” which stands for Precision Immobilization Technique, Pursuit Intervention Technique or Push It Tough, among other names for it, involves pulling next to another vehicle and using the front bumper of a patrol car to push on the rear corner of the suspect vehicle.
The sheriff’s department describes it as "a forced rotational vehicle stop of noncompliant subject vehicle.”
During Saturday night’s fatal pursuit involving deputies from the Downtown Safety Patrol, the deputy who initiated the chase asked a supervisor for permission to use a PIT.
“After crossing East 45th Street, I requested and received permission from the sergeant Schlegel to perform a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT),” Deputy Kasey Loudermilk wrote in his report on the incident. “However, pursuit speeds in excess of 80 MPH made conditions unsafe for a PIT. I accelerated to a higher rate of speed than the subject's vehicle in order to catch up to the vehicle and prepare to channel the vehicle or possibly conduct a rolling roadblock as I had another unit available to assist me.”
Loudermilk was involved in another pursuit that ended with the suspect’s vehicle crashing into another car earlier this year, killing the driver. In that incident, the suspect also died.
“The current situation is totally unacceptable,” said Cuyahoga County Council President Dale Miller. “Changes to policy and/or practice regarding chases must be made to drastically reduce the likelihood of future events similar to what happened over the weekend. Changes to personnel, policy and practice are also needed to ensure that we choose officers for Downtown Safety Patrol who are most capable in exercising good judgment and proper execution regarding chases.”
The approval of the supervising officer seems to contradict the sheriff’s department policy forbidding the use of PIT maneuvers when traveling above 45 mph. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department sets the maximum allowed speed for using a PIT maneuver at 35 mph.
An article in Police1, a website aimed at police officers, describes the tactic as safe when used properly, but includes a video of an Arkansas State Trooper’s car going airborne after using PIT to end a 100 mile-an-hour pursuit.
The sheriff’s department did not answer questions about department pursuit policies and whether this technique was being reconsidered.
“The actions of the suspect in this incident resulted in a tragic loss of life,” said Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel in a statement issued Tuesday. “As per policy, an administrative review of the incident is underway concurrent with the criminal investigation.”
According to police records, the first time Loudermilk sped up to pull next to the suspect vehicle, the driver, later identified as Jaymone Whitaker, stopped abruptly and turned off of St. Clair Avenue.
“I lost immediate contact but executed a U-turn and re-engaged the suspect vehicle as it exited a dark, unlit lot near Addison Road and St. Clair before continuing southbound," Loudermilk wrote in his report. "I had to drive at a higher rate of speed than the subject's vehicle again to be able to catch up to the vehicle in order to once again prepare a pursuit intervention technique.”
The speed of the vehicles is unclear at that point in the pursuit. Another deputy who joined the chase wrote in his report Whitaker was driving more than 100 mph on St. Clair Avenue while being chased shortly before the crash.
After Loudermilk attempted to pull up next to him a second time, Whitaker allegedly ran a stop sign, jumped a curb and drove onto Superior Avenue.
“At approximately 0118 hours (1:18 a.m.), the suspect vehicle crossed Superior Avenue at high speed and struck the driver's side of another vehicle traveling eastbound,” Loudermilk wrote.
That vehicle was being driven by Sharday Elder, a 37-year-old woman from Willoughby, who died after the Cleveland Fire Department was called to remove her from the car.
Whitaker had two passengers in the vehicle he was driving, an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old. Both were taken to the hospital for serious injuries. On Tuesday, a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Whitaker on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, child endangering, aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
The pursuit policy in effect when Pretel took office two years ago was more restrictive than the revision adopted under Pretel, requiring the same standards that allow an officer to fire his gun at a suspect before PIT can be used.
Shortly after the county announced the Downtown Safety Patrol in 2023, Ideastream Public Media requested all sheriff’s department policies in effect at the time.
Under the pursuit policy provided by the county, officers can only use the tactics Loudermilk sought to employ in “rare” circumstances.
“Unless deadly force can be justified, deputies should not cause deliberate physical contact between vehicles or pull next to the vehicle in an attempt to force it into an obstacle,” the policy reads, which is undated but signed by former Sheriff Clifford Pinkney. “In the extreme cases where the use of force would be justified to prevent injury or death to the deputy or other persons, a rolling roadblock, stop sticks, or a "pursuit intervention technique" ("PIT") may be considered.”
