| Time is NOT on our side ... More innocent lives sacrificed
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We extend our thoughts and prayers to these families.
Members sent us these stories about uninvolved people killed as a result of police chases:
Minnesota: Hanna Abukar, 26, wife and mother driving to Sunday School
(April 6, 2008, Read PhillipsWatch article, right column.)
Georgia: Patricia Griffin, 21
(March 2, 2008, Braselton officer chased a driver for speeding.)
Georgia: Laura Latimer, 42, mother of three (March 1, 2008, straight from the police scanner: The sergeant twice tells Deputy Anthony Gregory to "break off" the chase through downtown Augusta. Deputy Gregory continues the chase, initiated when the teenage driver fled from a traffic stop.)
New York: Mr. Lindsay Burton, 23
(February 28, 2008, New York Police officers were chasing a suspect in a stolen car.)
Maryland: Beatrice Omoro, 32, wife and mother
(February 13, 2008, Montgomery County police chased a driver because his car's headlights were off.)
Georgia: Joanna Joy Ringer, 21
(February 7, 2008, Columbus police say it started with a stolen vehicle
and ended with a fatal crash. Joanna was a sergeant in the U.S. Army on
active duty.)
Families heard about PursuitSAFETY and wanted their innocent loved ones remembered:
Georgia: Margaret Branton, 63, Lonnie Turner, 37, and Lonnie's unborn child died as a result of injuries to his wife (June 4, 2006, a Columbia
County Sheriff's deputy was chasing a shoplifter. Witnesses say a
deputy was chasing the driver before the crash. The Sheriff's Office says it was not a chase; the officer was just "catching up.")
Arkansas: Bridgett Sing, 20, and
her unborn daughter (June 18, 2004, Arkansas State Police chased a driver at 120 mph because the tags did not match the car. Bridgett was leaving McDonald's.)
Georgia: Grashunda "Shunda" Banks, 22 (July 23, 2000, the chase began when a Hampton City officer observed a driver playing loud music and chased the driver for a suspected traffic violation. The driver hit the car driven by Shunda, a senior at Georgia State University, who had plans to become a kindergarten teacher.)
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Click on the above link to complete a quick six-question survey. We will publish results in July 2008
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Think about it
Only 26% of drivers can determine from which direction a police car and its siren are traveling.
In the case of excessive speeds, some drivers won’t hear the siren at all because they are just behind or catching up to the sound.
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Wanted: VIPs
Your membership is important to us, and it's free. Click here.
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Dear Visitor,
Welcome to PursuitSAFETY, the newsletter to keep you informed about public safety and police chases. Please send comments to Candy Priano, director of PursuitSAFETY, at candy.priano@pursuitsafety.org. Thank you.
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Voices
Glenn Morshower, a.k.a. 24's Secret Service Agent
Aaron Pierce, partners with PursuitSAFETY
by Nora Profit
Advisory Board Member
The voice of one, joined with the voice of many, is sometimes all it takes for change to happen. Famed actor Glenn Morshower volunteered to lend his voice to the thousands of individuals killed as the result of a police car chase. He, like others, has made it his mission to bring national attention to this high-risk police activity.
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Glenn's timing in joining PursuitSAFETY as official spokesperson could not be more perfect. Deaths by police vehicular pursuit are the highest ever.
The most disturbing fact about these chases is they were not conducted to apprehend violent felons. They were spawned because of stolen cars, shoplifting, or joyriding. They were fleeing drivers who could have been caught in a myriad of other ways, when they were not behind the wheel of a car.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 404 people were killed by pursuit in 2006. Information for 2007 is not available.
Of those killed, 133 people were pedestrians or occupants in other vehicles. That's 2.56 innocent bystanders killed each week--each and every week--to stop a nonviolent suspect. When you consider not all deaths are reported and injuries of any sort are never recorded, police pursuits are a public safety issue that can't be ignored.
The slogan "To Protect and to Serve" is an empty promise when the public is made to pay for crimes they didn't commit.
Glenn Morshower is dedicated to putting an end to this travesty. He has a reputation for being an outstanding actor and is widely known for his compassion, integrity, and honesty. He is an actor who portrays strong characters the public trusts. Actors working with Glenn in movies and television say they are privileged to know him.
"We, too, are privileged to know Glenn and to work with him," says Candy Priano, director of PursuitSAFETY.
To read what Glenn Morshower has to say about public safety and police chases, click here.
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PhillipsWatch Blog
Teen flees, mom dies, children hurt
 by John Phillips
President, PursuitWatch
Minneapolis -- A 15 year old in a stolen car fled from police and while speeding through an intersection Sunday, April 6, slammed into a car carrying a mother, her son, and her son's friend en route to Sunday school.
Hanna Abukar, 26, died at the scene. Abukar's son was in critical condition and the other boy was in stable condition.
Officers had tried to stop the teenager because of a simple traffic violation. When the boy refused, the pursuit began. Soon after, officers learned the car they were chasing had been reported stolen.
Let's hope the MPD exercises proper oversight of this incident. To post your comment on PhillipsWatch, click here.
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PursuitSAFETY's image looks good
Graphic artist Priscilla Helling started it all with our logo design. Priscilla and Candy Priano first met in 1988 at Fresno State University where they worked on publications for the university.
Ben Bruner Web Productions gave PursuitSAFETY's Web site a "Wow" factor. Readers say, "It's Fantastic," "Fabulous," and "I am absolutely blown away at the look, feel and emotion of your site." Several readers wrote: "I found just what I needed. Thanks."
The header showcases six rotating pictures with pertinent quotes to convey important messages to our readers.
A dynamic, sliding panel features the faces and stories of children and unsuspecting adults who have paid the ultimate price: their lives. Sadly, we will continue to add pictures of loved ones caught in the middle of these chases.
Journalists with a deadline will find help is just a click away with our well-designed media kit. It includes a list of pursuit experts with contact information, a full page of facts and statistics, pursuit terminology, pursuit myths, research, and biographical information about those who serve PursuitSAFETY.
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Another record for PursuitSAFETY
We are certain CPA Jeff Vesely broke a record for getting PursuitSAFETY its nonprofit status. Jeff, PursuitSAFETY's chief financial officer, volunteers his time and expertise to this important cause. Thanks, Jeff!
On March 28, 2008, five months after being incorporated, PursuitSAFETY received a letter from the IRS confirming it is exempt from Federal income tax.
PursuitSAFETY's fiscal agent and partner is the North Valley Community Foundation. Contributions to PursuitSAFETY can be made directly to the Foundation. To find out how your money is used, click here.
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Parting Comment
Our volunteers are compassionate people. A heartfelt thank you to: Glenn Morshower, Jeff Vesely, Priscilla Helling, and Dawn Heckard and Lori Fuentes who fact-check and read copy for the web site and newsletter; Mark Priano who works behind the scenes, PursuitSAFETY's advisory board click here, and, most of all, our families -- so many miles between us and yet we are brought together by this preventable tragedy. One day we won't need to say: "It's time for a change."
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