The next time a police officer sees a burglar crawl out of a window and take off running, it may be the officer and not the bad guy who is compelled to stop.
On Tuesday, Denver police officers received new training guidelines on foot chases designed to keep officers safer.
In some cases, a sergeant may call off a foot chase if he or she deems it would be too dangerous for the officer or bystanders on a crowded street.
“We’re trying to help them in these high-risk situations,” Chief Gerry Whitman said, referring to officers. “We’re providing them with common-sense information. In many cases, the officers are already doing it.”
Under the new guidelines, the police officer, while running after a suspect, should relay by radio facts about the chase, including the location, whether the suspect is armed, what crime the person is suspected of committing and what direction the suspect is headed.
The guidelines, however, concern some officers who say they could help bad guys get away.
Officers already are at a disadvantage in a foot chase when they must wear heavy equipment, said Bob Freund, a board member of the Police Protective Association, the police union.
Requiring them to describe what is happening during a chase will only make it tougher, he said.
“At some point in time, police work is instinctive,” Freund said. “When you overanalyze it, you lose it.”
But Capt. Steven Carter, the department’s director of training, said officers should constantly evaluate changing circumstances during a chase.
“That’s just good, safe police work,” Carter said.
Every day, a Denver officer is involved in a foot chase, he said. In the past two decades, Carter said, two officers were killed during foot chases: Patrick Pollock in 1986 and Shawn Leinen in 1995.
In a training bulletin sent to officers Tuesday, several reasons for ending a foot chase were outlined, including:
The officer loses his gun.
The danger to the officer and the public outweighs the benefit of capturing the suspect.
His sergeant orders him to stop.
If the officer is unfamiliar with the buildings or tight spaces, such as alleys.
In recent years, other law enforcement departments, including the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, have passed similar foot-chase policies that require officers to stay in touch with their supervisors during chases.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
