THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502170016
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Regarding ``Studies show police pursuits plagued by collisions, injuries'' (news, Feb. 13):
While I can appreciate the dangers and risks involved in police pursuits, I feel that restricting pursuits to ``forcible felonies'' as implemented in Miami and its suburbs is not practical for police, nor does it allow police departments to serve and protect citizens to their fullest potential.
If blue lights come on in your rear-view mirror, but you don't feel like stopping, should the police be forced to embarrassingly stop following you and look for a more cooperative violator? No. We have laws that grant the police the right to stop and cite traffic violators as a means of serving and protecting citizens from damages done by irresponsible drivers. The police should retain the means they are given to enforce the law, including engaging in pursuit.
In addition, think for a moment why a driver would try to outrun the police after the police have tried to pull the vehicle over. If a motorist is desperate enough to try to evade radio-linked police cars, there must be something the motorist does not want the police to know.
I, for one, am willing to risk the chance of being a third-party victim in a police pursuit (in the past two years I can only remember seeing one pursuit, and that from a distance) in order to take would-be police evaders off the streets and to uncover whatever it is they do not want the police to know.
JOHN MILLER
Virginia Beach, Feb. 13, 1995 by CNB