Candy Priano & PursuitSAFETY
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Candy Priano is the founder and executive director of Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY. Candy’s presentations and articles about the dangers of police pursuits and the increasing number of innocent people killed as a result of these chases are based on five years of extensive research on this public safety issue. She has analyzed thousands of deadly pursuit stories and is adept at identifying the flaws in these chases. In addition, she has gleaned extensive knowledge from government and law enforcement studies and reports.
Candy is an associate member of ALERT International (Association of Professional Law Enforcement Emergency Vehicle Response Trainers International) and holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from Valparaiso (Indiana) University. She has debated the issue of pursuit safety on such shows as Heartland and Connected Coast to Coast. She has spoken to civic and law enforcement groups, media outlets, at educational conferences, and at California Senate hearings on behalf of "Kristie’s Law," a proposed measure named after Candy's daughter that would eliminate unnecessary chases and allow chases only when the driver who flees is a known violent felon or Amber Alert suspect, prior to the chase. You can read Kristie's story here.
As with other advocates for public safety involving police pursuits, Candy wants to make sure the benefits of a chase justify the risk because it’s not just affecting the person who was killed or maimed. It affects the immediate and extended families, friends, neighbors, and the community as deaths to innocent bystanders continue to climb.
The most important part of her role as director of PursuitSAFETY is to speak to families who have had blameless loved ones killed or injured as a result of a police chase.
| "Too many of us in PursuitSAFETY have had to bury a loved one. Each death is unique to each family. Even though I buried my daughter Kristie, I may not understand exactly what another family is going through," says Candy. "But, I know all too well the sense of betrayal, the silence from law enforcement officials who sometimes treat us as if we are the criminals, and the loss of trust in a government that is suppose to protect us.” |
TV: "Being a mother: the toughest public service job there is," Spirit of a Woman Conference, California State University, Chico, March 29, 2007 California statewide meeting for Officer Driving Instructors, POST-approved, Burlingame, CA, Oct. 11, 2005 California Senate Hearings 2004 and 2005 Street Officers from Sunnyvale, California, Public Safety Department, March 2004 "In Pursuit of Justice," Sociology Class, California State University, Chico, 2004 "In Pursuit of Justice," Leadership Class, California State University, Chico, 2003, 2004 "Tighten Pursuit Policy," Forest Ranch Homeowners Assn, 2003 "The Forgotten Crime Victims," Citizens of Stockton, September 17, 2003 "Tighten Pursuit Policy," Chico's Internal Affairs Committee, September 2003 |
Print: Opinion Articles: The Conservative Voice: "How many deaths before it's not okay?" by Candy Priano, September 2007 (A rebuttal to Thomas Sowell's column "High-speed car chases by the police " Pdf) San Francisco Chronicle and the L.A. Daily News: “Police-pursuit bill requires teeth,” by Candy Priano, July 2005 Ventura County Star Op Article: “Pursuing justice for 'lost’ crime victims,” by Candy Priano, May 26, 2004 |