Wrong way driver on limited access highway should have Police chased him?

J

jimintoronto

Well-known Member
In a recent situation here in the Toronto area, a thief who had stolen a large amount of alcohol from a Government liquor store, and who had stabbed a security guard while escaping, was driving the wrong way on highway 401, which is a major route. The escaping criminal was driving a rented U Haul cargo van. The Durham Regional Police Service was also driving in the wrong direction, pursuing the U Haul van, and attempting to stop it.

The van was driving at over 100 miles per hour, and it crashed head on into a vehicle, killing the van driver, and 3 other people, in the other car.

Now for the question? SHOULD Police have pursued the fleeing van, going the wrong way , on a major highway OR NOT?

Before you answer, consider these points. The Police are legally required to act, to try to stop the vehicle, before it causes an accident, and if they didn't act, they would be accused of "Failing to do their legal duty". If the Police did NOT act, and the van did crash, and kill those innocent people in the car, what would the public say about it ?

Now tell what YOU would have done, IF you were one of those Police officers, in that situation? Chase or NOT? JIM.
 

If the officer was following the rules of his department, that's what matters. The public doesn't deal with the criminal element on a daily bases and has no idea what chaos can be caused by an escaping felon.
 
I was surprised at how little time in prison one gets for a police car chase. You figure a guy, madly driven down the wrong way of the road, endangering multiple peoples' lives gets a 30 day suspension of his license and a $25 fine. I think if the cops are chasing you, and you're driving like an idiot, who is about to kill other drivers to get away- that's not just traffic violations, but intentionally putting people at grave risk for their lives- and that comes with long prison terms.
 

If I were a police officer I would follow police protocol.

The reason was clear in your post.

they would be accused of "Failing to do their legal duty
 
Probably way too simplistic in my thinking here, but would it have been possible to stop traffic coming the opposite way (a few miles ahead) and then when the driver going the wrong way had the road to himself, throw the spike strip. I suspect someone will have an answer about why that wouldn't work 🤷‍♀️ but the police wouldn't have put the public in danger by also going the wrong way... and they couldn't have been accused of neglecting their duty.
 
CallMeKate said:
Probably way too simplistic in my thinking here, but would it have been possible to stop traffic coming the opposite way (a few miles ahead) and then when the driver going the wrong way had the road to himself, throw the spike strip. I suspect someone will have an answer about why that wouldn't work 🤷‍♀️ but the police wouldn't have put the public in danger by also going the wrong way... and they couldn't have been accused of neglecting their duty.
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Nice thought since according to the info give the chase was at 100mph. That seems to indicate not much traffic was flowing towards what was happening. If the police had a helo available that would have been another solution. Not knowing all the factors we can imagine what could have worked.

What we don't know is if the chase would have been called off would that still have taken place. Not suggesting what you posted wouldn't work. We get to use what if's the police at the time didn't have that luxury.
 
There are many police chase videos on YouTube and other sites. The police do occasionally discontinue a chase if the situation becomes excessively dangerous. Or, they may back off a bit in the hope that the felon will slow down a little snd drive less recklessly. But they usually keep chasing fleeing felons regardless of how frightening the videos may look.
 
Knight said:
Nice thought since according to the info give the chase was at 100mph. That seems to indicate not much traffic was flowing towards what was happening. If the police had a helo available that would have been another solution. Not knowing all the factors we can imagine what could have worked.

What we don't know is if the chase would have been called off would that still have taken place. Not suggesting what you posted wouldn't work. We get to use what if's the police at the time didn't have that luxury.
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Knight. This event took place in the middle of the day, on a week day. The 401 highway runs right through the middle of the city of Toronto, and the traffic was heavy at the time. The fleeing U Haul van was driving the wrong direction in the collector lanes at about 100 miles an hour, being pursued by 3 Durhan Regional Police marked vehicles. The chase covered about a ten mile distance, before the van hit a car head on killing a total of 4 people, including the criminal driving the van.

The Coroner's Inquest jury ruled that the deaths were caused by the fleeing van driver, and not the Police actions. The Ontario Special Investigation Unit also investigated the Police actions, and ruled that their actions were within the guidelines set out by the Ontario Police Act regulations. JIM.
 
jimintoronto said:
Knight. This event took place in the middle of the day, on a week day. The 401 highway runs right through the middle of the city of Toronto, and the traffic was heavy at the time. The fleeing U Haul van was driving the wrong direction in the collector lanes at about 100 miles an hour, being pursued by 3 Durhan Regional Police marked vehicles. The chase covered about a ten mile distance, before the van hit a car head on killing a total of 4 people, including the criminal driving the van.

The Coroner's Inquest jury ruled that the deaths were caused by the fleeing van driver, and not the Police actions. The Ontario Special Investigation Unit also investigated the Police actions, and ruled that their actions were within the guidelines set out by the Ontario Police Act regulations. JIM.
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As it should be. The van driver was breaking the law by fleeing. His actions and his auto is what killed them
 
A helicopter should have been dispatched with the police cars backing way off. This disaster should have been anticipated by the police. Just my opinion.

If this happened in the States, that PD would be paying large settlements to the families of the three innocents who were killed.
 
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Absolutely. Am not a fan of non pursuit policies. Non pursuit here in a few cities California has been a failure, taken advantage of by criminals.

What matters is how vehicle pursuit is done. Police ought not pursue at length so close and so fast within other traffic to cause perpetrators to drive desperately. Instead after a modest distance should get a ready helicopter involved as soon as possible and on freeways block roads and exits. On key urban streets, automated surveillance cameras ought be used to help track perpetrators.
 
As far as I'm aware, this type of police pursuit would not be permitted in the UK. If the officers had decided themselves to pursue in this manner and a collision occurred, that regional police department would have reported itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). UK police departments reporting themselves is standard procedure.

British police forces follow strict pursuit guidelines, especially when public safety is at high risk. An independent investigation might not necessarily bring charges against the police, depending on the circumstances. It might depend on whether the police were able to demonstrate how they weighed up the risk to the public, even in the event of a later crash. They usually demonstrate an ongoing, running commentary risk assessment during the pursuit, which would be recorded inside the pursuing police car. It's easy to pass judgment without knowing the full circumstances, and the thinking of the officers involved.


Posted 11 months ago:

 

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