| Polk County, Florida- Citizens and travelers beware Home |
| Polk County Florida Sheriff's Col. Grady Judd, quoted in a
Orlando Sentinel article about Central Florida pursuit policy justified his agency's
wide-open pursuit policy by saying that the uniqueness of each pursuit situation requires
that deputies be free to make decisions on a case by case basis. A specific example stated
by Col. Judd, "There are misdemeanors, such as an outrageously drunk person driving a
3,500 pound missile, that are much more dangerous than some severe felons," demonstrates
just how far from reality they are. To expect a drunk driver, already mentally and
physically impaired to act reasonably when being pursued ignores the deadly reality of the
situation. Drunk drivers are much more likely to continue to flee and pursuing them
virtually assures that the pursuit will end in a crash, often resulting in deaths or
injuries to police officers and innocent civilians. Furthermore, to assert that a
sheriff's deputy, in the heat of an vehicle apprehension gone bad, is in a position to
make all of the life or death decisions required in pursuit decision-making is sheer
madness. At a time when police trainers teach police officers to breathe deeply to counter
the effects of adrenaline and the resulting "tunnel vision" it causes, and to
suppress the "contempt-of-cop" mindset, Polk County expects its deputies to
consider all of the consequences of the pursuit they are about to undertake. It is a
disaster waiting to happen. What may politically pass for a tough "law and
order" attitude is nothing more than a careless disregard for public safety. Most of
the work has already been done. Volumes of research, and decades of data collecting, have
been done that dictate strategies that maximize the safety of the public, and those
involved in pursuits, and allow the apprehension of dangerous criminals. To put an excited
deputy in the position of having to reinvent the wheel each and every time he is faced
with a pursue/no pursue situation borders on malfeasance and the citizens of Polk County,
and those who travel there, have a real reason for concern. James Phillips 8/16/03 Article Links: Polk County, Florida pursuit policy Polk County Sheriff's Office |
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