Police chases in Los Angeles County are “causing unnecessary bystander injuries and deaths” and law enforcement officers need better training to reduce the risk of crashes during high-speed pursuits, according to a new report by the county’s civil grand jury.
The report comes after a data analysis by the Los Angeles Times showed that 1 in 10 car chases initiated by the Los Angeles Police Department from 2006 to 2014 resulted in injuries to civilians.
The grand jury said both the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department need to improve training for officers who engage in pursuits, and questioned the need to chase suspects for nonviolent crimes. The Sheriff’s Department’s training center is in dire need of an upgrade, the report said.
Citing data provided by the California Highway Patrol, the grand jury report found that 17% of the car chases that took place in the county in a 12-month period beginning in October 2015 ended in a crash that could have resulted in injury or death. Two-thirds of those 421 pursuits ended in an arrest.