Police in Chicago will no longer be allowed to pursue people just because they take off running as part of new policing guidelines.
The new policy comes a year after two on-foot pursuits led to the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man. The policy also includes rules that seek to instruct police on when they can and can’t respond to a certain activity and prevent incidents in which an officer could hurt themselves or bystanders.
If a cop wanted to chase someone, they’d have to believe a person is committing a felony or is about to. Other qualifying reasons would be if the person running was about to commit a Class A misdemeanor like drunk driving or domestic battery.
Suppose it’s minor issues like a parking violation, driving with a suspended license or drinking publicly. In that case, a cop won’t be allowed to chase them on foot, ABC 7 reports. A person would have to be “an obvious threat” to any person.
