Chicago Police Officers No Longer Allowed To Pursue People on Foot Just Because They Run Away

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.