"Some of these high-speed pursuits have resulted in harm and even death to innocent bystanders. It's an ongoing problem and it's about time the Police Commission changed its policy."
That's a quote from Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, as cited in a CNN.com article about the Los Angeles police considering banning police car chases.
This quote, and others I've seen like it from people commenting on police chases, conveniently overlook a simple fact: the police were chasing people who chose to run. Yes, it's a tragedy when the idiots the police are chasing crash into people. But it's a tragedy caused by the people running, not by the police.
Do we really want a system where criminals know that to get away from police, all they need to do is drive really fast? Is that actually better?
Just because it's easier to change the behavior of the police than the criminals doesn't mean it's the fault of the police.
Seem weird that 60% of high speed chases in LA are over "minor traffic violations such as missing license plates or broken taillights." If the guys driving around with 40 pounds of crack in the trunk (or whatever it is that makes them run) would just keep their cars in better repair, the cops wouldn't look twice.
On the other hand, people will run from almost anything, it seems -- I read about an SUV smashing into another car in an intersection and continuing on its merry way without bothering to stop and see where the other car ended up after its 540-degree spin. Among the shrapnel left in the street was the SUV's license plate, though...