State Rulings on Immunity
PursuitSAFETY maintains this national database tracking the immunity that is granted to law enforcement agencies regarding deaths of and injuries to innocent bystanders killed and injured as a result of police vehicular pursuits. This section is about "PREVENTION" because without ACCOUNTABILITY, pursuit policy, training, and supervision are meaningless. Drivers who flee must be held accountable for their actions and be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Just as true, all law enforcement agencies must require their officers to follow their pursuit policy.
"Can you think of any other public-safety priority where thoughtful policy is developed, adopted and then legally ignored? All other law enforcement policies require accountability. Accountability should never be feared. It is critical to good government." —The late Jim Phillips, pursuitwatch.org, 2005.
The most some state laws require is that Police departments must have a pursuit policy. Some departments have revised their policies, making them more restrictive by identifying what type of violations officers are allowed to chase . The conundrum is that while departments are required to have a policy, such as in the state California, no state law exists that requires officers to follow the policy they have actually adopted. They are also not liable when they do violate those policies.
All states have laws shielding police from liability. California is the only state that grants blanket immunity even when the policy is not followed. Additional information is provided for the "linked" states below:.Alabama California — No Accountability Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho |
Kansas Louisiana Maine Nebraska |
Ohio Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Utah Vermont Washington |
Last updated: April 2008.