13 July 2007- Correction:  Paragraph six has been corrected to explain that the State Police, not CCSO were responsible for issuing an incident report on this matter.  The state troopers began the pursuit and conducted the arrest/investigation. 

 

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BAY NET READERS’ TIPS regarding the involvement of a officer’s children in a high-speed chase were recently confirmed by Charles County Sheriff Rex Coffey.

Coffey explained that a Maryland state trooper attempted to pull a driver over for a DUI check on Hwy. 301.  The suspect refused to stop. The subsequent pursuit became a high-speed chase in the direction of St. Mary’s County, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph with the suspect often driving down the wrong side of the road. 

Photos by Heather Bartlett for TheBayNet.com

Multiple members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) were listening to the incident on department radios when an off-duty Charles officer radioed-in that he was joining a Maryland state trooper’s high speed pursuit of a DUI suspect.  The county officer joined the chase, despite the fact that his two children were with him in the patrol car at the time. 

According to the Sheriff’s recollection, the chase ended when the suspect driver lost control of his car trying to make a turn.

Other sources, who wished not to be named, told The Bay Net that the chase ended when the officer in question performed a PIT maneuver.

The Sheriff spoke candidly with The Bay Net about the incident.  CCSO information officer Kristen Timko said the department didn’t publish an incident report for the chase because it was initiated and investigated by the State Police.  A report of the incident wasn’t readily available from the Maryland State Police.

The Pursuit Intervention Technique, or PIT maneuver, is a popular U.S. police method for ending vehicle pursuits.  A patrol car taps the rear driver’s side bumper of a pursued vehicle, forcing it into a 180 degree spin.  The suspect driver will most often lose control of the car and the chase is over.

The Sheriff told The Bay Net that officers listening to the incident on the radio became particularly concerned when they heard the off-duty officer with his children in the car, offer to perform a PIT maneuver because they knew he hadn’t been trained to execute it.  At that time, no one in the CCSO had been trained to do the maneuver.  It’s particularly not recommended for use in high speed situations.  The presence of the officer’s two children was another concern.

“Obviously we try to refrain from getting into a high speed chase when children are in the car,” the Sheriff told The Bay Net.

However, the decision to involve one’s family in potentially risky police business seems to be the off-duty officer’s personal decision.  Sheriff Coffey explained that if off-duty officers are using their patrol cars for family business when a call comes over the radio, and they get involved without first securing the