I was just watching Worlds Wildest Police Chases.  While attemping to stop a suspect, the officers involved in the chase PITted the suspect vehicle and caused it to crash into 2 other vehicles on the interstate.  Who would be responsible for the damage to these vehicles? It would seem that the police would be because they chose to PIT the suspect and if they wouldn't have then those cars would not have been damaged.  On the other had, if the suspect wasn't running from the police it wouldn't have happened either. Thoughts?

Quoted: I was just watching Worlds Wildest Police Chases.  While attemping to stop a suspect, the officers involved in the chase PITted the suspect vehicle and caused it to crash into 2 other vehicles on the interstate.  Who would be responsible for the damage to these vehicles? It would seem that the police would be because they chose to PIT the suspect and if they wouldn't have then those cars would not have been damaged.  On the other had, if the suspect wasn't running from the police it wouldn't have happened either. Thoughts?

I know what you are talking about.  If I'm right they are crusiing down the highway in the left lane and the cop pits the car into other cars.  

Just from looking at it from a supervisory stand point I'd want to know WTF that officer was thinking.  

We've been having this debate over at C & D for a few days now:

www.caranddriver.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=57478

No agreement so far.

I think that in some way the agency/ officer could be held civilly liable. If you think about it, an officer who chooses to shoot a bank robber but inadvertantly strikes the nun driving by on her Harley is going to be held civilly liable. Same concept. Ultimately I think the offender is the one who should be held criminally liable. They opted to run.

Most departments hate the PIT manuever because when it wreaks the patrol car then the department insurance has to pick up the tab.  My agency doesn't let us us the PIT manuever unless it's in a case where deadly force would be authorized.  And as you can imagine, that's pretty rare.  Most dirtbags don't drive insured vehicles.

Most agencies don't allow them PERIOD, or they will call in a state trooper who has been through some sort of certification process and then they have to have approval from at least two supervising officers of Lt or higher.

To the best of my knowledge, in Oklahoma, only OHP troopers are certified for this kind of action and it is only taught at Burns Flat, not at the academies.

I would think that the officerr would be liable if the technique was applied at the wrong time. Should the maneuver cause a collision with uninvolved vehicles, and the officer had reason to believe this would happen, he had better be able too articulate why he did it.

Well just like not shooting the bank robber running into a playground full of kids with 00 buckshot you have to apply some type of common sense to what you are doing. By the posts here I guess the officers aren't liable if they are chasing and the bad guy and he hits a bus on his own..... WRONG. The PIT allows you to STOP the bad guy a pursuit means to try to catch the bad guy if you aren't going to do anything to stop the bad guy then you are just involved in a crash in progress following until they wreck bail or kill somebody else. This thing is not magic but pure physics and allows the cops to do something other than just watch the wreck in progress. Different agencies put different speed limits on the PIT but the cars generally aren't tore up much at all typically paint transfer went done correctly.
If you descide it's important enough to chase somebody then you ought to be able to do something to stop them from running if not you may want to consider not chasing them at all.

The agaency would or should pick up the property damage inflicted by their folks.

Quoted: Most agencies don't allow them PERIOD

This is true of my dept.  The dept is concerned about the liability.  I cannot in any way block the roadway of a fleeing suspect either.  All I can do is follow and wait for the suspect to wreck out, stop on his own, or have the chase called off (does happen).  We can't have more than three units in a chase, one of which has to be a supervisior.

If Texas DPS is close enough to get involved, then I let then.  If seems they are able to persuade the suspect to stop in ways that would get me fired.

Quoted: Quoted: Most agencies don't allow them PERIOD This is true of my dept.  The dept is concerned about the liability.  I cannot in any way block the roadway of a fleeing suspect either.  All I can do is follow and wait for the suspect to wreck out, stop on his own, or have the chase called off (does happen).  We can't have more than three units in a chase, one of which has to be a supervisior. If Texas DPS is close enough to get involved, then I let then.  If seems they are able to persuade the suspect to stop in ways that would get me fired.

Around here, it goes Stop Sticks, then road block (or both) but there has to be an out...No "Dead Man" blocks...

After that is Precision Immobilization Technique or PIT (with OHP anyway) and if that doesn't work then it's a 12 gauge slug through the driver's door. (No, I've never seen it go that far.)

No PITting for us either

A lot of Florida agencies use the PIT to stop cars if they can.  Our agency uses it and it has worked out quite well.  We get to practice it once a year during our in service driving course.  The speed limits we can perform the PIT are 20-45mph and if the car is going around a corner it is even better because they are half way there.  

Your agency start with the letter A....  794?  Sounds like a familar policy.