New York City police officers will no longer engage in high-speed chases of drivers who break traffic laws or commit other low-level offenses, the Police Department said, in an effort to stop the crashes that have led to serious injuries and deaths in America’s most densely populated major city.
A new policy will prohibit officers from chasing vehicles at their discretion, unless the drivers have committed the “most serious and violent crimes,” meaning felonies or violent misdemeanors, according to a statement released by the police on Wednesday.
“Our officers deserve clear guidance and smart protocols when determining whether to engage in a vehicle pursuit on our streets,” Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said in the statement. “The N.Y.P.D.’s enforcement efforts must never put the public or the police at undue risk, and pursuits for violations and low-level crimes can be both potentially dangerous and unnecessary.”
The policy comes as New York’s streets are contested as never before, with drivers competing not only with one another, but with pedestrians and riders of electric scooters and bicycles. Congestion pricing has officers looking for drivers who have altered their license plates to avoid toll readers. And legalized marijuana has created a morass as the police must contend not only with drivers who are high, but with how and when to apprehend them.
The chase policy, which will go into effect on Feb. 1, followed an analysis of the current practice, which allows officers to chase drivers who flee after vehicle stops.
Last year, the police engaged in 2,278 vehicle pursuits, according to department figures. A quarter led to a collision, property damage or physical harm, the police said. Sixty-seven percent of the chases occurred after an officer pursued a driver who fled a car stop. Many of those chases would not have been allowed under the new policy, the police said.
The police continued vehicle pursuits even as crashes caused by city vehicles have cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars. They also have led to deaths. In October, Amanda Servedio, 36, was riding her bicycle on the Queensboro Bridge when she was struck and killed by a driver who was fleeing the police.
In a statement, Patrick Hendry, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, said he was grateful that officers in his union would have more clarity.
“However,” he said, “it will be up to the department to ensure that this policy is applied so that neither police officers nor the public are unnecessarily put at risk.”
The department has defended high-speed pursuits, saying that they have often resulted in the arrests of people who have committed serious crimes like robberies and shootings. In July 2023, John Chell, who was then chief of patrol, said that it was imperative that officers go after dangerous drivers or cars with fake or covered license plates.
“You are not going to drive around this city in a reckless manner, thinking you can do whatever you want to do with your attitude and commit crimes,” he said during a news conference that month. “People thinking they can take off on us: Those days are over.”
But on Wednesday, Chief Chell, now the department’s top uniformed officer, expressed support for the change.
“Our overarching objective — every minute of every day — is to keep the people of this great city safe,” Chief Chell said in the news release announcing the policy. “We need to pursue criminals when appropriate and stay our hand when the risks to the public and to our cops outweigh the benefits.”
The policy is in line with recommendations outlined in a 2023 study by the Police Executive Research Forum, which researched the issue with support from the Department of Justice.
That study warned that “pursuits are high-risk events that put the lives of officers, suspects and the public at risk.”
“Furthermore, the costs of property damage and litigation can be substantial,” the study said. “When pursuits go wrong and innocent, uninvolved people are injured or killed, public trust in the police is undermined.”
Under New York’s new policy:
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Supervisors will be responsible for actively monitoring and managing pursuits and instructing officers to stop if they are reaching high speeds in dense areas or near a school or playground.
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Officers who stop pursuits for safety reasons “will not be the subject of criticism or disciplinary action.”
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Technology will be used to keep records on pursuits.
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There will be monthly reviews to determine whether the policies are being followed or need to be improved.
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The police will issue an annual report on pursuits.
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