By Matthew F. Myers
For as long as there have been cars, there have been car chases. A car chase connotes a dangerous, high-speed dash through city streets. Fleeing from justice, the criminal finds himself weaving between cars and driving onto sidewalks to evade his pursuers. In the popular imagination, a car chase entails the possibility of danger and injury to the public. This view is confirmed by a number of studies.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that of the 314 people killed in car chases in 1998, 36% were innocent bystanders.[1] One study estimated that police pursuits caused “14,000 injuries and 700 pursuit deaths each year.”[2] These tragic consequences belie the fact that the majority of these pursuits begin as traffic stops.[3] Whatever reason a particular suspect has for fleeing, it is clear that it is a dangerous choice.
Law enforcement’s traditional approach to flight has only exacerbated the potential for danger. Many officers believe that they need to catch fleeing suspects “if it’s the last thing (they’ll) ever do.”[4] With an ever-proliferating number of new technologies that law enforcement can employ against suspects,[5] this cavalier attitude no longer seems necessary. But courts have refused to limit officers’ discretion as to how to end a chase. As recently as 2007, the Supreme Court has held that an officer may use deadly force to stop a suspect fleeing by car.[6]
Read the full report here: http://wakeforestlawreview.com/2014/04/gps-bullets-and-the-fourth-amendment/