It took Madison police rows of road spikes to subdue fleeing drug dealers in two separate high-speed chases Wednesday night. Both chases ended without violence, one on Interstate 94 east of the city and one in Verona.
But the police practice of engaging in chases, known as pursuits by officers, is not universally popular. Critics of police pursuit such as the online magazine 'Talk Left' argue that high-speed chases can do more to endanger the public than to protect.
Mike Hanson, public information officer for the Madison Police Department, said police rely on 'pages and pages' of procedural guidelines to avoid unnecessary danger. And before pursuing a suspect, Hanson said, police have to ask themselves if the risk is worth the reward.
'Are they posing a threat to themselves or others'? Hanson said. 'Did they commit a felony'?
Verona Police Chief Bernard Coughlin, whose officers were dispatched to one of the chases, said caution is best when deciding whether to pursue a suspect.
'My policy on pursuits is that we're very conservative and aim to err on the side of caution,' Coughlin said. '[Officers] have to continually ask themselves whether or not the need for immediate apprehension outweighs the risk and danger to the public.'
UW-Madison law professor David Schultz said police procedures help eliminate some of the madness of a chase.
'You would like to take some of the pressure off the individual officer in the heat of the moment,' Schultz said.
According to Hanson, police have grown more cautious in recent years as police chases across the country have gone awry, injuring or killing innocent people.
'I think just nationally it started going towards there when there were more accidents or crashes stemming from pursuits,' Hanson said.
He said suspects flee police for various reasons, a sentiment echoed by Coughlin. Schultz said those on the run often do not think rationally when they see police sirens in their rearview mirrors.
'I suspect in many cases it's just sort of a reflex,' Schultz said. 'Here they come, there I go.'
According to Hanson, police have to undergo pursuit training every two years so they are prepared when a chase unfolds. He said officers sometimes watch video of pursuits as training, but added chase footage does not fascinate police as it does the general public.
'We may watch a video,' Hanson said. 'But it's not like everyone is hardcore waiting for the next high speed chase.'
Hanson said he has been a part of several chases during his career'??none of them enjoyable.
'You can't tell what the person is going to do and you don't have control of the situation,' he said. 'There's no great fun in pursuits.'
