Wednesday, August 7, 2002
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Wednesday, August 7, 2002 |
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Did chief's chase policy handicap PTC police? By JOHN MUNFORD and CAL
BEVERLY
When Luthersville police officers chased a suspect through Peachtree City at speeds over 100 mph July 27, city police officers blocked major intersections to try to make sure no innocent bystanders were hurt, according to Chief James Murray. While many in the public have lauded those actions, representatives of other police agencies have complained that Peachtree City units should have done more to stop the suspect, said Murray Tuesday. Some law enforcement officials in off-the-record comments were less complimentary of Murray's no-chase policy. A dispatcher for the countywide 911 center writes in a letter in this issue that one of Murray's policies prevented his officers from even knowing a chase was coming their way. "An off-duty Peachtree City officer who heard the chase on his personal scanner" used his city walkie-talkie to notify on-duty officers that a chase was headed for the city, according to Nicole Grizzell, a 911 dispatcher for Fayette County. "Chief Murray will not allow his own officers to have scanners in their police cars," Grizzell said in her letter on Page 5A. "He will also not put a state-band radio channel in their police cars. Doing so would allow his officers to communicate with other agencies, which is often needed at times. His officers cannot even talk to Fayetteville [Police Department] via radio if necessary." Murray agreed that not all city patrol cars have state band radio channels in them. But, Murray said, watch commanders have access to the state band radio in their vehicles, and the radio channel is largely used for administrative purposes such as coordinating funeral escorts. It's true that the department was notified of the chase by an off-duty officer who overheard the Luthersville pursuit on his scanner while reporting to an off-duty job in the city, Murray said. But at about the same time, the police department was notified of the pursuit by Fayette County 911 dispatchers, Murray added. "We don't need them (the state band radios) in every car, just the supervisor's car," Murray said, explaining that it's the watch commander's job to coordinate where officers respond to incidents like this. "It's so unusual that we need it." Because of this particular incident, however, the department may consider equipping sergeants' squad cars to receive the state band radio frequency, Murray said. Murray also is staunch in defending the actions of his department that Saturday. "You don't chase them at all costs," Murray said. "... Our watch commander, Lt. John Anderegg, did an outstanding job in deciding to protect anybody from getting run over when it came through." The pursuit ended with a collision that killed an innocent motorist just outside the eastern Peachtree City limits. Charles Vicha, 41, of Peachtree City died instantly after the Ford Explorer driven by Loraine McCrary of Jonesboro struck his minivan on the driver's side door. Grizzell said more people might have been killed had it not been for the actions of Corporal Samuel F. Smith. "He called in the chase just in time for the Ga. highway 54-74 intersection to be blocked," Grizzell wrote. "Luckily he was driving through the city on his off-day." Because of the danger to other traffic on Ga. Highway 54, Peachtree City officers were unable to use "stop sticks" to disable the speeding vehicle driven by McCrary, Murray said. Each Peachtree City officer has the stop sticks a strip of tire-puncturing spikes in their patrol car, but they must be used with caution in a controlled environment, Murray said. The stop sticks are designed to puncture the tires of a suspect's vehicle so they slowly deflate and cause the vehicle to slow down dramatically. "What if she would have lost control and jumped over the median and hit an oncoming vehicle?" Murray said. "... There was potential for a very dangerous situation to happen." The department's policy does not totally forbid chases but requires officers to follow behind at safe speeds in case they need to render assistance, Murray said. Also, the watch commander on duty can call off the pursuit if necessary, the chief added. McCrary, who faces multiple charges of identity fraud, was in stable condition at Grady Hospital Tuesday afternoon as she recovered from injuries sustained in the wreck, according to a hospital spokesperson. Three children were also in McCrary's vehicle when it wrecked; the most seriously injured child, Tonisha Millens, was in good condition at Scottish Rite Hospital of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokesperson. The other two children were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital the same evening as the crash. Murray last week wrote well-publicized letters to Gov. Roy Barnes and President George W. Bush asking them to help stop high-speed police chases. "I wonder if Gov. Barnes knows about Murray's lack of support for using a statewide radio channel," Grizzell wrote in her letter.
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