FORT WORTH, Texas — The Fort Worth Police Department published Monday a portion of its vehicle pursuit policy, but key guidelines dictating when chases are allowed remain confidential.
WFAA and other media outlets have fought to review the policy since July, when Fort Worth officers crashed into a truck during a chase and killed its driver. That man, 57-year-old Andre Craig, was not involved in the chase and had not committed a crime.
Some of the newly-released details had already become public in court, where several plaintiffs are suing the department for wrecks that occurred during police pursuits.
“Releasing our police pursuit policy was a decision that required careful consideration of various factors," Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes wrote in a statement to WFAA . "First of all, it is important for law enforcement agencies to have clear guidelines and procedures in place to ensure safe and effective pursuit practices. We also understand that making such policies public can lead to increased transparency, but also increased risks to officers and the public if criminals are made aware of our tactics."
"Ultimately, the decision to release portions of the Fort Worth Police Department’s vehicle pursuit policy was based on the realization that portions of our pursuit policy could be released without creating unnecessary risk," Noakes continued. "The communities we serve deserve transparency, just as our officers deserve to be protected from potential harm whenever and wherever possible."
The portion of the policy that is now public makes clear Fort Worth police officers may only pursue a suspect when they deem their potential escape could cause more harm to people and property than the chase itself. This is a standard provision included in many departments' pursuit policies, WFAA's analysis of neighboring community's police orders shows.
When deciding whether to engage, Fort Worth police officers must consider road and weather conditions, nearby population density and traffic, whether the suspect's identity is known and the seriousness of the offense. Fort Worth police may only initiate a chase in marked vehicles with sirens on and emergency lights flashing.
WFAA asked two law enforcement experts to analyze the information that became available Monday.
"I didn't see any major surprises there," said Alex Del Carmen, associate dean for the school of criminology at Tarleton State University. "They go through a great deal of detail, perhaps more than most other policies."
But Del Carmen noted the department does not disclose what crimes warrant a chase or which conditions might prompt the department to end a pursuit. Publicizing such information might allow criminals to exploit the policy, he contends.
"There are rules of engagement and things in policies that should not be released to the public," Del Carmen said. "You don't want bad people to know what's going to call a pursuit off because they will, in fact, try to bring that on."
In total, Fort Worth police redacted at least five guidelines included in its vehicle pursuit policy: Authorized Pursuits, Restrictions on Vehicle Pursuits, Pursuit Tactics, Deployment of Tire Deflation Devices and the department's helicopter involvement and responsibilities.
"We don't know what we don't know," Del Carmen noted. "We don't know exactly what they're restricting."
The Dallas Police Department takes an opposite approach: Its pursuit policy is detailed and public. Officers there may only pursue people who've committed a felony involving the use of force or threat of physical force, or people suspected of violent crimes or people who are likely to commit a violent crime.
DPD also details its prohibited practices, pursuit strategies, tire deflation device methods and its helicopters' roles in chases.
"The most critical piece for the public is under what circumstances are agencies going to engage in a pursuit, initiate a pursuit, or maintain a pursuit," said Art Acevedo, former police chief in Houston, Miami, and Austin.
When he led those departments, Acevedo says their vehicle pursuit policies were public.
"We thought it was very important for the public to have access to our policies so they could make their own assessments of what our policies and procedures are," he said.
"It's a matter of organizational philosophy for different agencies," Acevedo added later. "Many departments now err on the side of transparency, because that's really what breeds trust. Trust is a commodity we rely on to gain cooperation of the public we serve."
Based on the guidelines Fort Worth police released Monday, Acevedo said he suspects the department's pursuit procedures authorize chases only when the suspects are violent or pose a violent threat.
"From what is public, it appears to be very standard and consistent with national standards - especially for legitimate, big-city police departments," Acevedo said, acknowledging he cannot be certain without seeing the entire policy.
Both experts said police pursuit policies are generally informed by common sense.
"There's really little mystery to this," Del Carmen said. "You pursue the bad guy when the weather allows it and if the conditions are such that the bad guy is going to pose a threat to society, more so than the chase."