By Christine Vendel
Harrisburg police have
suspended several officers for allegedly violating department policy in a wild
car chase earlier this month.
City officials would not
identify the officers, confirm the number of officers or suspension days or say
what part of the department's pursuit policy was allegedly violated.
The city also declined to provide
a copy of the police department's pursuit policy, which outlines the
circumstances under which officers can chase vehicles. Such policies are
confidential under Pennsylvania law.
Other states, including New
Jersey, allow reporters and the public to access pursuit policies.
Sources told PennLive four
officers were suspended between two and five days each. Officers can appeal
their suspensions but it was unclear if the officers had filed appeals.
The Nov. 3 chase started
downtown after officers noticed the driver going the wrong way along Second
Street. He drove northbound on Front Street, then drove the wrong way across
the Harvey Taylor Memorial Bridge.
Because of the danger he posed
to other drivers, police chased him, Police Chief Tom Carter said the day after
the chase.
During the 15-minute chase, the
suspect hit or sideswiped at least three vehicles, including two Harrisburg
Police cars. One woman in a vehicle struck by the suspect suffered minor
injuries, police said.
The chase ended on North 32nd
Street, near Logan Street, in Camp Hill after the driver struck a curb,
disabling his vehicle. He was alone in the vehicle.
Police charged Curtis Howard
Wanner, of Womelsdorf, with 10 crimes including fleeing and eluding, reckless
driving, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and driving the wrong way.
Police "always take into
account the safety of the public before chasing anyone," Carter said at
the time. "We tried to get him stopped several times. He was not paying
attention to our signals. We had to take some police action."
Investigators believe Wanner
was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Police department policies can
range from permissive, deferring to officer discretion, to restrictive, only
allowing officers to chase vehicles associated with a violent felony.
It's unclear where Harrisburg
stands because of the state law that mandates such policies "shall not be
made available to the general public."
While police departments have
different guidelines for police chases, many involve a requirement that the
initial officer ask a supervisor for permission to continue a pursuit.
In those situations,
supervisors weigh the seriousness of the offense against the danger posed to
the public. The supervisor will either grant approval or tell the officer to terminate
the chase.
The supervisor usually gets
updates throughout a chase and can decide to discontinue later if the danger
posed to the public seems to be increasing.
When making decisions,
supervisors will usually consider the following circumstances: vehicle speeds,
volume of traffic and pedestrians, weather conditions, time of day, road
conditions, familiarity with the area and whether the suspect is known and
could be arrested at later time.
Police agencies in Pennsylvania
are required by law to make a report of each police chase and provide the data
to the Pennsylvania State Police. The PSP is required to collect these reports,
analyze the data, and compile and publish an annual summary of the findings.
Harrisburg city officials on
Friday denied PennLive's Right to Know request for the report concerning the
Nov. 3 chase.
According to last year's annual
report of aggregated data:
• Seven people were killed in police pursuit crashes. All of
them were violators. The figure was down from 14 killed in 2012.
• 514 pursuits resulted in a total of 671 crashes with 203
of the pursuits resulting in injury to the violator, police, and/or uninvolved
persons.
• More than 69 percent of pursuits resulted in the
apprehension of one or more violators.
• Roughly 53 percent of chases were initiated because of
traffic violations, about 14 percent for felony crimes and 13 percent for
suspicions of driving under the influence.
