‘It’s not going to be The Dukes of Hazzard.' Police welcome flexibility on pursuits, critics fear more crashes

Law enforcement groups are praising Washington lawmakers for passing an initiative granting local agencies more flexibility for police vehicle pursuits. They say the change will help police address rising crime and reckless driving.

Meanwhile, a national policing group recommends restricting police pursuits to cases of violent crime, where the suspect poses an imminent threat, a standard closer to Washington’s current law.

Legislators voted to approve I-2113 on Monday. The Republican-backed measure, which takes effect on June 6, does away with statewide pursuit restrictions put in place since 2021, which limit pursuits to specific violent crimes where the fleeing person poses a serious risk of harm. Instead the initiative lets local agencies decide when to chase fleeing vehicles, if someone is suspected of breaking the law while posing a safety threat.

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Steve Strachan is executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, which supported the initiative. He said the flexibility will help police address increased crime and traffic fatalities.

“This will hopefully start to send a stronger message that criminals don’t have the upper hand, that they can’t just drive away with no consequence, but this is going to be a transition and certainly I think every agency is looking at their policies,” he said.

Strachan said pursuits are inherently dangerous and he wants legislators to help address fleeing suspects through other measures like tougher penalties, impounding vehicles, and increased use of technology. He said he was frustrated that a bill containing those provisions failed this year.

“We hope that the eventual result is not more pursuits, but less pursuits,” he said.

Strachan said it will take time for the public to notice any changes.

“You know, it’s not going to be 'The Dukes of Hazzard' out there,” he said.

RELATED: Police vehicle pursuits mostly on pause in Seattle due to lack of training

But Leslie Cushman with the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability said that’s her biggest fear about the implications of giving police more leeway.

“Carnage, really, and innocent people being killed,” she said. “And that includes alleged criminals who maybe have shoplifted — they don’t deserve to die in a car wreck.”

Cushman said police should only initiate pursuits related to violent crimes, and not over stolen cars, in line with the recommendations of the Police Executive Research Forum.

"According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), fatal crashes involving police pursuits kill more than one person every day; 525 people were killed in 2021, and 545 were killed in 2020," the research forum reported. It said roughly one-fifth of people seriously injured in police pursuits were bystanders.

RELATED: See ya! Washington police say drivers aren’t stopping for them; cite pursuit restrictions

Strachan said police officers should be able to take into account environmental factors like the time of day and type of street when deciding whether to pursue a potentially stolen vehicle.

“It simply removes that really bright line that says anything other than very specific violent crimes it’s prohibited to pursue,” he said, noting that the initiative requires officers to weigh the safety risks of the pursuit versus failing to apprehend the person.

Cushman, meanwhile, called the initiative's language on risk assessment “way too vague.”

“Safety is pretty subjective," she said. "That’s where we’re going to get discriminatory policing.”

Both groups support the legislature’s funding of $400,000 to study the number of police pursuits in Washington and their outcomes. That study is scheduled to be completed by June 2025.

Update 03/08/2024: Law enforcement agencies responded to KUOW's request for comment about the passage of I-2113.

The King County Sheriff's Office issued the following statement:

"To prioritize community safety, the King County Sheriff’s Office pursuit policy has always mandated that deputies carefully weigh the severity of offenses against potential risks before engaging in vehicle pursuits, ensuring that all actions are conducted with due regard for the safety of all individuals involved. Over the next few weeks, we will review our pursuit policies and procedures, ensuring any adjustments prioritize safety above all else."

The Pierce County Sheriff's Office issued the following statement:

"We will be working on updating the policies on pursuits that we currently have based on the 2021 laws. The biggest message the previous laws sent to criminals was they did not have to follow the rules because no one was allowed to enforce them.

Moving forward we hope criminals will get the message that fleeing in a vehicle is no longer a get-out-of-jail-free card."