N.H. authorities defend pursuit policies after fatal crash

ROCHESTER, N.H. – A fatal car crash last week has raised questions about police chases, but police departments around the state are defending their pursuit policies.

A Maine man was killed June 17 when, according to police, his car was hit by a drunken driver trying to elude police in Rochester. Edward Byron, 29, of Milton faces negligent homicide and other charges in the death of Michael Morneault, 40, of Berwick, Maine.

State Police Major Keith Lohmann is the assistant director of the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council. He said such tragedies do not mean pursuits should be banned.

“I don’t recommend an absolute ban on pursuits,” he said. “Particularly when an uninvolved party is injured or killed, it draws more scrutiny. But none of us has a crystal ball to see how things come out. It’s a hot issue and should be, but officers should be allowed to do their jobs.”

The decision of whether to pursue a suspect ultimately rests with the officer, he said.

“You have to evaluate the facts and circumstances of each incident and then make the decision to pursue or not. There are too many variables involved to have a standard, black-and-white policy.”

Hampton Police Chief William Wrenn said his department has grappled with the issue.

“I know we’ve considered a no-pursuit policy, but we do have a pursuit policy in place. That policy is refreshed every year, our officers go through extensive training,” he said. “It’s a difficult thing and none of us likes them because they are generally incidents that end in an accident, and many times those accidents occur after the chase had already been called off.”

According to the Laconia Police Department’s written pursuit policy, the decision to pursue “must be based on the pursuing officers conclusion that the immediate danger to the public created by the pursuit is less that the immediate or potential danger to the public, should the suspect remain at large.”

Because of the heart-pumping, adrenaline rush of the high-speed pursuit, it is not uncommon for the pursuing officer to be in close contact with a supervisor via the radio.

“Pursuits cause a lot of stress. Stress can sometimes cloud judgment with the adrenaline pumping,” said Ted Kirkpatrick, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Justice Works, a research consortium for the study of the prevention and control of crime. “That’s why it is important to remain in radio contact with someone who isn’t involved.”