Maybe? Just depends on why?
Just as with a tactical entry into a property, or any other arrest for that matter where there are multiple people involved, everyone is treated equally until you can sort it all out.
Since the police have no way of knowing who you are or what role you may have had in the chase/auto theft/etc., they would treat you and anyone else in the car, as cautiously as they would another suspect.
Once we know who is who, then we'll help you up off the ground, apologize and help dust you off
Seriously though.
Have you ever watched video of the school shootings or other matters where the suspect is still unknown and believed to still be at large inside?
The students, employess, everyone, are in many cases held at bay, brought out with thier hands interlocked over thier heads, patted down, etc....until the police can sort through them.
Unfortunatly, you sometimes just have no way of knowing
A friend of mine was a detective in Ft Worth and I would ride with him. I remember one time he was tipped as to the location of a bad guy so he had uniformed officers meet him at the apartment complex. I had to maintain a distance but could see all that was going on. They cuffed everyone until they cleared the other people.
As far as slamming people to the ground, there's generally no reason (other than pure out of control adrenelin) to slam a cooperative subject to the ground. This type of action "could" result in civil (and criminal) litigation against the officer and/or the department for excessive use of force.
In many cases you see a large group of officers rush a vehicle immediately after a chase terminates. If the car has crashed, I can somewhat understand it.
If the suspect stops (for whatever reason-spike strips, fuel, OnStar
, etc)., from an officer safety position, the
LAST thing you'd want to do is rush the car. Watch some of these end of chase videos and see how many times officers place themselves in a cross fire position with thier back up officers
I haven't noticed that (cross fire) in chase videos but I have seen it during building entry. Problem is when you have many officers gaining entry and they expect the bad guy to appear shooting everyone is ready to return fire. Makes for a very dangerous situation.
I need to watch the video of the chase. If there was no other traffic, that early in the morning, who knows? I'm still not a cheerleader for police pursuits, but it depends on the
known facts surrounding his charges (Felony, Misdemeanor or traffic) and other factors. Lets assume for a moment that the police knew the had true felony criminal charges, not felony traffic (other than DUI Manslaughter or H & R), the roads were somewhat clear, weather was cooperating and the bird was doing it's job.
Staying back and letting the perp slow down might be an option. Uee the helo to guide officers into an intercept position with the spike strips or set up for a pitt.
My feeling is, if the pursuits justified, then whatever force necessary to end it is also justified! Get it over with before some innocent citizen gets hurt or killed.
BTW, I too enjoy these debates/discussions. They sometimes lead to a more open minded society
Have a good morning
