Harrisburg police officers suspended in connection with wild car chase


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.