ATLANTA -- This year we've seen countless protests and rallies over police use of deadly force. But it's not just the decision to shoot that can kill. Every year about 300 people die in police chases across the country.
Atlanta Braves head trainer Jeff Porter knows that statistic all too well. His wife Kathy died December 31, 2011. They were headed to the Chick-fil-A Bowl game along with their son and a family friend, when Georgia State Patrol Trooper Donald Crozier made the decision to join a police chase on Interstate 20.
"I remember mom yelling, 'Jeff look out!' It was like a split second after she said that, we got hit," said David Porter as he and his father sat in their living room, reflecting on the day they both lost someone incredibly important to them.
"He ran through red lights, he accelerated, he never slowed down. Hit that intersection in a 35 mile zone, 68 miles an hour," said Jeff Porter.
In court, Crozier plead guilty to vehicular homicide, reckless driving and violating his oath of office. With seven other at fault accidents on his record, a judge sentenced him to two years behind bars.
"The guy shouldn't have been driving a Georgia State Trooper car," insisted Jeff Porter.
Every law enforcement agency has a pursuit policy, but our open records request to more than a dozen jurisdictions found the policies vary widely. In Roswell, the policy we received was only one page. The longest and most detailed policy was 16 pages. In most are a complex set of questions an officer must answer in seconds.
Some departments, like Gwinnett County, list the suspected crimes that can warrant a chase. Among them murder, armed robbery, and rape. In Carrollton the decision to pursue is left solely with the officer.
"It's a risk analysis. And it's difficult because officers are trained to stop criminals," explained Deputy Chief Erika Shields with the Atlanta Police Department.
But their also mandated to protect the public. The point is to weigh the risk of what might happen if the suspect gets away – with the danger of a chase that could go horribly wrong.
"Vehicles, they're just so powerful. And when a pedestrian or another car is struck, the likelihood of injury or death in a vehicle pursuit is just too great," said Shields.
Every time an officer chases a suspect in their patrol car, they must fill out a report to make sure they followed protocol and help guide future changes to the department's pursuit policy. 11Alive asked to see the reports for 2014.
According to them, Atlanta police engaged in 30 chases, half of them initiated by officers on the force for three years or less. No one died, but 15 people were injured. Three were innocent bystanders, one a police officer.
Most pursuit policies require officers to call off a chase if the immediate threat is gone, the suspect can no longer be found, or there enough information gathered about the suspect to find them another way.
Even though eight of the chases conducted by the Atlanta police department last year were called off minutes after they started, officer still had enough information to arrest the suspect 75% of the time.
Because of the risk, some communities have banned pursuits. But even after all they've lost, the Porters believe officers should have the ability to chase a dangerous suspect.
"Absolutely, absolutely they should," said the Porters in unison.
But they both feel believe there must be something police can do to better protect the public while they do it.
"That question has been driving me crazy since December 31, 2011. I don't know," said Jeff Porter.
Porter says if officers just followed the rules already on the books – he believes communities would be safer. Certainly Kathy would be alive.
"Somebody has to pull the trigger on the gun. Somebody has to misuse the car. Same thing, same thing," said Porter.
