Fatal police pursuits in Cuyahoga County are prompting calls for policy changes on chases, but it’s unlikely anything can be done to force changes by all 50-plus police departments in the county.
After a fatal police chase last week that began in Euclid and ended with an death of a driver in Cleveland who was not involved in the chase, city council members questioned Safety Director Wayne Drummond about placing new restrictions on chases that cross into Cleveland.
Drummond told council he can’t force other departments to change their policies or follow Cleveland’s stricter rules.
“There’s little that we can do besides get folks together at the table like we’re doing here to talk through it, see what we can do collectively to come up with recommendations for the municipalities to hopefully adhere to,” said Drummond.
The Euclid Police pursuit started following a report of shots fired near the Euclid – Cleveland border.
According to Euclid Police, the pursuit reached speeds around 90 miles per hour and ended in Cleveland with the death of 54-year-old Maurice Ford, whose car was struck by the fleeing driver.
Cleveland Assistant Public Safety Director Jason Schachner told council even if there was a way to force other departments to follow stricter rules, it would be hard to enforce.
“Are we supposed to start pulling over Euclid police vehicles? Are going to put spike strips down, if they’re going over a certain speed, because we don’t know what they’re chasing for?”
Shachner said adding state law has a few requirements for department pursuit policies, but those are more lenient than the Cleveland police policies.
The Cleveland Division of Police changed its pursuit policy following the 2012 killing of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, an incident known as ‘137 shots.’
The Cleveland policy prohibits chases unless in response to a violent felony or someone operating a vehicle under the influence. A supervising officer is required to end the chase if it’s found to pose a greater threat to the public than letting the suspect get away.
Several years ago, some council members pressured the department to loosen its restrictions on pursuits.
The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department recently updated its pursuit policy to restrict pursuits to violent felonies, following two deaths of uninvolved drivers withing five months of each other.
