by Andrew C. Martel
Of The Morning Call
August 21, 2008

Pennsylvania law requires police officers to consider the danger posed by starting a car chase, the severity of the crime
the driver is suspected of committing and the weather and traffic conditions.

Two of those factors, the severity of the crime and traffic conditions, were critical in the Route 22 rush-hour chase that
left two people dead Tuesday, but officers also are left to their own discretion in these types of cases.

''No matter what policy you have, when you have police officers making a split-second decision, it is up to them,'' said
Cpl. Christopher Bendl of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Research and Development.

All of the state's police departments must have written policies on chases and can write their own, but they
are similar and almost always allow for officer discretion, Bendl said.

Palmer Township, where the chase and crash killed 31-year-old Jolene C. LaBar and fatally injured the man being chased, Kevin W. Messinger, allows individual officers to decide whether to pursue a suspect. Department policy states officers must ''constantly consider the risks created by the pursuit'' and ''not needlessly endanger other persons.''

The policy requires officers to consider such factors as the time of day, traffic volume, the type of road, weather conditions and the speeds involved. A supervisor or a pursuing officer can decide to end a chase, but the policy doesn't restrict chases to certain crimes.

In a statement Wednesday night, Palmer police said officers on 13th Street saw Messinger, 38, of St. Petersburg, Fla., speeding in the wrong direction on Route 22 and pursued him cautiously, also going west in the eastbound lanes, while checking drivers he had forced off the roadway.

Messinger's truck smashed head-on into a car, fatally injuring Messinger — who was suspected of stealing a vaccum cleaner — and killing LaBar, who was married in May and one month pregnant.

Under state law, the Palmer department must file a report on the pursuit, and department policy holds
officers accountable for continuing a chase that should have been abandoned.

Elsewhere, police departments have tightened restrictions. In Orlando, Fla., officers can only chase someone suspected of a violent crime such as murder, armed robbery and armed sexual assault.

In St. Louis County, Mo., police chases are only allowed if the suspect committed or attempted a felony, the crime involved or posed the threat of deadly force, and a precinct supervisor gives approval, according to Maj. Tim Fitch, a commander in the department who helped draft the pursuit guidelines.

Officers must consider changes in traffic or the weather during a chase, said Tim Miller, a police academy trainer in Idaho and governing officer of the Association of Professional Law Enforcement Emergency Response Trainers. Most departments invest little time in that kind of training, he added.

''A majority of the officers nationwide get their pursuit training at the academy and then they never see it again,'' he said. ''The proactive departments will continue to train for it like they do with firearms.''

PA. POLICE CHASES

2007
Number of police chases: 1,931
Accidents: 652 (resulting in 843 vehicles damaged)
Deaths: 13 (all violators)
Apprehension rate: 71.8 percent

2006
Number of police chases: 2,115
Accidents: 697 (904 vehicles damaged)
Deaths: 12 (all violators)
Apprehension rate: 70.2 percent

2005
Number of police chases: 2,215
Accidents: 745 (989 vehicles damaged)
Deaths: 13 (10 violators, 3 uninvolved)
Apprehension rate: 71.4 percent
Source: Pennsylvania State Police

Reporter Joe McDonald contributed to this story.
Copyright © 2008, The Morning Call; printed with permission.