ALBANY (TNS) — Attorney General Letitia James says New York should ban most high-speed police chases, highlighting the dangers pursuits pose at a time when many New York police departments have been chasing more often.

“Millions of New Yorkers take to the roads each day, and they deserve policing and traffic enforcement that is safe, fair, and effective,” James said this week. “The evidence is clear: police vehicle pursuits and high-speed car chases can be dangerous and even fatal, and it is time for a change. We are proposing these reforms to improve public safety for everyone on the road — drivers, passengers, and law enforcement.”

In a report, James called on the state Legislature to pass a law that limits vehicle pursuits to only the most serious criminal suspects or drivers creating an immediate threat of severe injury on the roads. In the meantime, the report said individual police departments should change their policies to follow this guidance.

The New York City Police Department, the largest municipal police department in the country, announced in January that it would restrict pursuits to only suspects of the most serious crimes. Other large departments with restrictive pursuit policies include Buffalo and Rochester.

But a Times Union investigation in 2024 found, across the state, it’s relatively rare for large New York police departments to restrict chases to drivers suspected of committing violent offenses, based on a review of their policies at the time. That means officers can often initiate pursuits for low-level infractions, including minor offenses or traffic violations.

The number of high-speed police chases across New York has surged since 2020, with car crashes and deaths increasing in tandem, the Times Union also found last year. The Times Union collected data on police chases from a dozen police departments around the state and reviewed crashes associated with police chases statewide.

In New York, police departments don’t have to report their pursuits to any outside entities. James’ report said that should change. She said a law should be passed to require New York law enforcement agencies to track and report data about traffic pursuits and high-speed chases to a centralized agency like the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. That data should be shared publicly, the report said.

Tracking these incidents would improve public accountability, evaluate agency performance and help oversight agencies protect civil liberties and civil rights, the report said. Similar data collection and reporting systems exist in California, New Jersey and Connecticut, according to James’ report.

REACTIONS TO REPORT

Officials with the offices of Gov. Kathy Hochul and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie said they will review the report.

“Gov. Hochul’s top priority is keeping New Yorkers safe,” said Jess D’Amelia, a spokeswoman for Hochul.

Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay said tracking fatal pursuits seems “worthwhile,” but he wouldn’t want to limit when officers can chase.

“Moving toward a ban on the pursuit of criminal suspects sets an unsettling precedent,” he said. “There are no absolutes in police work. Law enforcement professionals are trained to assess a situation and exercise judgment to the best of their ability. Why not increase penalties on suspects who flee the scene? Of course, no one wants to see tragic accidents occur. But if police officers are restricted from carrying out their duties and detaining criminals, we’re compromising public safety.”

State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Democrat who chairs the Transportation Committee, said James’ report “gives further light on the need for action.” Last year, Cooney called for data collection on police pursuits and a study on whether different policies between departments are resulting in different outcomes.

“I am now carefully reviewing these findings, along with previous reports, to determine how best to advance meaningful reforms that promote accountability and ensure safer communities across the state,” he said.

The New York State Sheriffs’ Association and the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police both indicated they are wary of a statewide ban on most police chases.

Patrick Phelan, executive director of the Association of Chiefs of Police, echoed Barclay’s call for increased penalties on fleeing drivers.

Peter Kehoe, executive director of the Sheriffs’ Association, said a “one-size-fits-all ban” wouldn’t account for all the variables officers face.

“If a statewide high-speed pursuit policy is to be imposed upon police agencies, it should be one developed by the Municipal Police Training Council in DCJS, the state agency that is already charged with developing model policies, with input from the law enforcement community,” Kehoe said. “The (attorney general’s) office is not well equipped to manage police agencies or develop the best policies for them.”

Kehoe also worries that more data reporting requirements would take police away from their primary work.

The attorney general’s office reviews incidents where civilians die due to the actions of law enforcement, including during police pursuits.

For agencies with body cameras or dashboard cameras, officers should be required to state the information suggesting the fleeing suspect committed a serious crime or is likely to cause harm to themselves or others on the road, the report recommended.

“Some of the most extreme injury and harm happens when routine traffic stops escalate into pursuits or high-speed police chases,” the report states.

DATA CITED

The report cited data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the International Association of Chiefs of Police finding numerous people are killed and injured every year in pursuit-related crashes. Research shows calling off a chase will prompt the fleeing driver to slow down.

In New York, at least 117 people died during 94 police chases since 2012 — with roughly 10 deaths per year, the Times Union found after building a database of the incidents using federal and state data, court records and news stories.

The increase in pursuits is occurring as more drivers flee police, often due to minor offenses that include traffic violations and property crimes, the Times Union found.

Chases by the State Police doubled from 2018 to 2023. Many were initiated and then quickly called off.

“Suspects who drive recklessly to avoid law enforcement endanger the public, officers, themselves, and their passengers,” said Beau Duffy, a State Police spokesman. “Troopers are trained to weigh the risks of a pursuit against their duty to enforce the law. As an agency, we continuously review procedures and equipment to mitigate the dangers of pursuits.”