St. Louis County has 1.1 million residents and 93 incorporated
cities. The St. Louis
County Police Department is responsible for law enforcement for the unincorporated
portions of the county as well as contracting to provide
services for 28 of the communities. The St. Louis County Police employ 1,000 people. Major
Tim Fitch, a 20-year veteran, is commander of the Division of Patrol, which currently
employs 529 people. I became acquainted with Major Fitch through PursuitWatch.
I asked, and received from him a copy of the St.
Louis County pursuit policy. It was an impressive document. I asked Major
Fitch for an interview about the policy and it's impact on his department.
After a late start, (he was attending a luncheon where several of his officers were being
recognized for their work with the mentally ill) I spoke to Major
Fitch, by phone.
Major Fitch: Jim, let me say that my heart goes out to
you and your family. I read the Highway Patrol report and it woke me up in the middle of the night
thinking about it. That is a policeman's worst fear. I can only imagine how the OCSO
deputies must have felt. No police officer I have ever met can say that they enjoyed being
in a high-speed pursuit. I have been in them and they are sheer terror. Not only are
innocent motorists at risk, but also a significant number of police officers are injured
and killed in pursuits each year.
Jim Phillips: Thank you.
Jim Phillips: Major Fitch how did St. Louis County
happen to review and change their pursuit policy?
Major Fitch: There wasn't any particular incident that precipitated the change. We
simply recognized the dangers involved and took action to address them. The public expects
us to catch the "bad guys", but they also don't want anybody hurt. It can be an
impossible task. Our solution was a restrictive pursuit policy, and doing our job
"smarter".
Jim Phillips: What do you mean by doing your job
smarter?
Major Fitch: We have four helicopters here; we are able to use these quite often to
follow those who flee. We have a "bait" car on order to catch auto thieves. We
can discreetly follow suspects and capture them when we have the resources and
circumstances we need to do our job safely. We are always reviewing tactics, as well as
technology, that will allow us to do our job safer and better.
Jim Phillips: Was there resistance to the change from
your patrol officers? Perhaps from the younger, more inexperienced officers?
Major Fitch: Actually it was the older officers, who were used to a different
standard, which we had to work harder with to acclimate them to the more restrictive
policy. With the younger officers we were able to begin in the academy and they were very
receptive.
Jim Phillips: Do you do pursuit training on a regular
basis?
Major Fitch: All of our recruits receive police driving
training in the academy. There is ongoing training in a police officer's most important
tool. Do you know what that is?
Jim Phillips: Their patrol car? Their weapon?
Major Fitch: No. It is judgment. Good judgment gets our job done. Good judgment
saves lives.
Jim Phillips: Your policy requires use or threatened
use of deadly force. Can you elaborate?
Major Fitch: We do not pursue for misdemeanors. We do not pursue for traffic
violations. We do not pursue for grand theft auto. We do not pursue for burglary. The
policy is clear: use or threatened use of deadly force.
Jim Phillips: Has the policy resulted in fewer
pursuits?
Major Fitch: We almost never pursue. In fact, we received a call from the people
who manufacture Stop Sticks
(a tire deflation device), which all of our patrol units carry, wondering why we
weren’t ordering replacements. I told them that since we rarely pursued, we rarely
used them.
Jim Phillips: Your pursuit policy provides for a review
of all pursuits and disciplinary actions for when policies have not been properly
followed. Have there been a lot of disciplinary actions taken?
Major Fitch: There have been a few. The policy provides for continuous monitoring
and evaluation of the pursuit by the precinct supervisor and requires him to stop a
pursuit that does not fall within guidelines.
Jim Phillips: What happens if an officer disregards an
order to stop?
Major Fitch: If an officer specifically ignores a supervisor's
order to terminate a pursuit, they could receive discipline up to and including
termination. So far, thankfully, that hasn't happened.
Jim Phillips: Since your pursuit policy is a public
document and your policy is well known do you find that more drivers tend to flee-knowing
that you are less likely to pursue?
Major Fitch: We haven't noticed any increase.
Jim Phillips: So those who are going to run, run -no matter what the circumstance
or policy?
Major Fitch: That is our experience.
Jim Phillips: There is a paragraph that explains that
the policy should not be construed as a creation of a higher legal standard of safety or
care in third party claims. Do you feel that some law enforcement agencies try to set
policies broadly so that they can limit liability?
Major Fitch: There is certainly no reason to do so. The Supreme Court decision in County of
Sacramento v. Lewis set the test for liability under Section 1983 at “actions
which shock the conscience” and ultimately this is the standard by which they
will be judged in Federal cases.
Jim Phillips: Can I ask how old you are?
Major Fitch: Certainly. I'm 41 years old.
Jim Phillips: You are awfully young to be this advanced in your career!
Major Fitch: I started when I was 12 years old.
James Phillips May 6, 2003
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