Fairfax Co. residents question police pursuit policy after neighborhood crash
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Austin Thomas was sleeping peacefully at his home on Saturday night, when suddenly he heard a loud noise.
“We were asleep. There was a loud explosion sounding outside,” Thomas said.
He later found out that the sound was a result of a 20-year-old driver, who crashed into three vehicles and a RV at around 1:00 a.m.
Surveillance video shows several officers following that suspect into the neighborhood moments after the crash.
Fairfax County Police admits there was a short chase in the neighborhood on Martha Washington Street, after the driver of a BMW made an illegal turn.
According to the police department’s policy, “pursuit supervisors must always balance the need for immediate apprehension with the danger created by the pursuit.”
In this case, Thomas believes the chase put lives at risk.
“It’s not safe to have a hundred mile per hour chase throughout the neighborhood,” Thomas said.
At one point the suspect narrowly missed a young woman, who was riding her bike.
Thomas talked to officers after the crash.
“When you factor in, what’s more valuable, the pursuit of someone who is suspected of DUI or the lives that could’ve been damaged or the property that was damaged or if it wasn’t those vehicle, it would’ve gone through a house, the way this neighborhood is setup,” he said. “So if it didn’t hit those four vehicles, the first tree and the two trees on the top of the trailer, who knows where he would end up.”
Fairfax County police are still investigating the incident.
Charges are pending for the driver of the BMW.
“He could’ve stopped, I don’t know what was running through his head,” Thomas said.
As previously scheduled, before the crash, Fairfax will take another look at their pursuit policy in December 2022.
Fairfax police dressed as Santa surprise children in the hospital for the holidays
Here's a better idea...do your jobs.
Don't murder any citizens and lie about it....let me be more clear....One: don't murder any citizens. Two: Don't lie about murdering them.
Fairfax County Citizens Police Academy Accepting Applications
Is your life really that empty that you would actually get involved with this?
Sully District Police MPO Kitzerow Receives Two Awards...ouy vay with the awards already
THE FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE GIVE EACH OTHER AWARD ON A BI-WEEKLY BASIS
Fairfax prosecutor will not seek charges in Bijan Ghaisar case before he leaves office
JUST LEAVE....YOU HAVE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE. JUST GO AND BE INCOMPETENT SOMEPLACE ELSE.
Its amazing more of these donut hunters don't accidently shoot themselves
Chief: Breach may have compromised police
officers’ data
December 1, 2019
By – Associated Press – Saturday, November 16,
2019
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) – Officials say a possible
data breach may have compromised the personal information of more than 500
employees of a Virginia police department.
Fairfax County Police Chief told the Washington
Post that he doesn’t have any reports that officers’ personal information has
been exploited.
But the chief says he is concerned after
learning that officers’ names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers may
have been compromised by the potential breach at a neighboring police
department.