Criminals run, cops chase and sometimes the public pays (pdf)
Pioneer Press, June 19, 2011: PursuitSAFETY is inspired by Bob and Mary Sanford. Read page 2 of this pdf document: A Chase, A Crash, A Limb. "For Mary Sanford, even one case of a bystander killed or injured is too many. She started a website justice for maryanddan.com after her son, Dan, and his friend, Mary, were seriously injured in a St. Paul, MN, pursuit.

Hot pursuits are a deadly matter
CityBeat, Cincinnati, OH, May 11, 2011: "Local law enforcement officers have the right to pull over anyone, but my first thought always is, if you’re driving a stolen car, or if you have warrants outstanding, how likely is it that you’re going to pull over?” she [Candy Priano] says. “The more likely response is flight, and these tragedies will continue to happen. They repeat themselves over and over.” ... It’s a reality that’s being proven true as national studies continue, weighing the danger police pursuits pose to innocent bystanders and the police officers themselves, along with the drivers fleeing police.

Deaths lead police to question chase policies,
USA Today, April 22, 2010: PursuitSAFETY advisory board member, Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina who has studied police pursuits since the 1980s, says the actual number of fatalities is "three or four times higher." Another complicating factor: bystanders killed after police stop chasing suspects — even seconds afterward — are not counted.

3 Days, 4 Families = Thousands Informed
April 2010: Families representing four states participated in PursuitSAFETY's first regional Information Exchange meeting in the Southwestern Illinois, St. Louis area.

Police Chases Too Risky for Community
Richmond Times Dispatch, March 27, 2010: "The problem is there's no accountability," Candy Priano, executive director of PursuitSAFETY, said yesterday after learning of Taylor's death. "And in a few months, the community—not the family, not the church family—but the community as a whole will remember this incident less and less." ...Policies need to be instituted and enforced that allow high-speed chases only in pursuit of violent felons, she said. She also backs mandatory prison time for any driver who flees police.

Safe Speeds to Protect Innocent Bystanders
March 2010: Pat Lynch interview Candy Priano

Family wants to cut deaths from police pursuits
Cincinnati Enquirer, December 25, 2009: Johnny Kallmeyer should be celebrating the holidays. Instead, his family will be visiting his grave. Kallmeyer was killed in 2007 when the motorcycle he was driving was struck by a criminal driving a speeding car chased by police. More than two years after that death, with Kallmeyer's killer in prison for 25 years, his family has settled a civil suit it filed against the pursuing police and is active in a national group that advocates for police pursuits that don't kill.

Dangers of high speed pursuits examined after recent officer-involved crashes KXII-TV—September 28, 2009: In the past weeks two separate pursuits have resulted in two major crashes that injured three law enforcement officers. Now some people are asking if high speed pursuits are worth the risk. Candy Priano, founded Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY after a loved one was killed by a fleeing driver. Priano says many times the best course of action is for police not to give chase. "When it comes to police chases we blame the fleeing driver, but the fleeing driver does not care about public safety so it falls on police to keep the public and themselves safe." Watch video and read story at KXII.com.

In Pursuit of a Motorist who Ran a Red Light
rrstar.com, February 23, 2009: Trooper Molitor, who was traveling west on U.S. 20, states in the affidavit that he was braking, reaching down to turn on his squad car’s emergency lights and sirens, and preparing to make the turn when he struck a northbound SUV driven by Darla Greenberg, causing injuries that killed Greenberg’s front seat passenger and mother, Carole Tierney. Molitor also had the red light, the investigation revealed. Greenberg had a green light.

Police pursuits can be costly — in money and lives
philly.com, December 18, 2008: Candy Priano, executive director of PursuitSAFETY says "But in too many cases, the suspect poses no immediate danger to the public, and it's the chase itself that threatens the public. Most suspects can be arrested through good police work, rather than a pursuit."

U.S. watchdog organization condemns fatal police chase
canada.com, November 17, 2008: John Phillips, president of PursuitWatch says police should never have pursued the suspected cigarette smuggler who ended up killing a New York couple and himself in a violent crash to end a police chase. Phillips also serves on PursuitSAFETY's advisory board.

Police chases prompt policy scrutiny
Democrat and Chronicle, New York, October 23, 2008: Twice this month, area police engaged in frenzied high-speed chases reaching upwards of 80 miles per hour. ... Candy Priano, executive director of the nonprofit Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY, knows about the limitations of FARS fatality reporting. Her organization pushes for tougher police policies for pursuits and, she said, she knows of four more innocent bystanders killed in California chases in 2007 than are included in the numbers for that state.

Chases: 'An emerging public health problem'
The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine: Dr. Robert M. Miller one of the groups' leading researchers, concluded, "Police pursuit related fatalities are an emerging public health problem that affects suspects, police officers and innocent bystanders alike. More data must be gathered by each state to fully understand the nature of pursuits with a goal of reducing preventable deaths and injuries." UPDATE: If you have research or any information about this topic, please contact Candy Priano at candy.priano@pursuitsafety.org.

Several factors weigh in on Pennsylvania police chases
The Morning Call, August 21, 2008: In-depth look at state law, pursuit policies and officer training. Two of those factors, the severity of the crime and traffic conditions, were ignored in the Route 22 rush-hour chase that left innocent bystander Jolene LaBar and her unborn baby dead Tuesday, but officers also are left to their own discretion in these types of cases.

Mom claims stretch of Noland Road as her own
Missouri-Independence Examiner, August 19, 2008: “Christopher Cooper was a 17-year-old junior at Truman when he was struck on his bicycle by a car fleeing police last November near Truman Road and Osage Street. "Out of everything that has happened, it is very hard to find any positives,” Cheryl Cooper, Chris's mom said. “I’m very interested in motivating the young people to get involved in their community in just a small way. I’d be happy if maybe this can keep just one of them from throwing a plastic bottle out of a window while they’re driving.” (Video of clean-up, click here.)

Fatal chases won't alter Louisa, Virginia, policy
Charlottesville Daily Progress, August 9, 2008: Over the decades, retired Police Chief D.P. Van Blaricom said, he has seen many police departments write more restrictive policies but not follow them. For a policy to work, he said, officers need to be trained in it and understand the consequences of not following it.

Acting on pursuits
Chico Enterprise-Record, July 28, 2008: PursuitSAFETY spokesperson Glenn Morshower said he came to Chico earlier this month to film public service announcements designed to make people aware that innocent Americans die every week because of ill-advised police pursuits and that officers do not always follow their departments' pursuit policies.

Chase victims often bystanders
The Huntsville Times, July 27, 2008: John Harris Phillips, president of the Florida-based PursuitWatch.org, said an officer pursuing someone who has not committed a violent crime is akin to "shooting a gun in a crowded room. Sometimes, nothing will happen. Other times, you'll hit other people."

Chico Enterprise-Record, October 10, 2007: Larry Mitchell, Staff Writer for the Chico E-R, reports: In June, Priano and others who want to reform police practices concerning pursuits formed an organization, Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY.

USA Today, The Early Show, & Good Morning America

October 9, 2007 — USA Today article on GM's OnStar features two advisory board members from PursuitSAFETY: Dr. Geoffrey Alpert and John Harris Phillips. Read the USA Today story.

John Harris Phillips, also president of PursuitWatch.org, was on CBS' Early Show and Candy Priano, Executive Director of PursuitSAFETY, was on Good Morning America.

Read news stories published from 2003-2006 at KristiesLaw.org.