Crashes raise concerns about pursuit rules for immigration agents

"Unless stopping that person is important to prevent, like, immediate risk of death or risk of serious injury to someone else, we probably shouldn't be pursuing them. And that's not a controversial statement within policing. That is the norm within policing."

"We've actually made a lot of progress here in the last 30 years. Most departments now have some form of pursuit policy, which calls on officers to weigh the risks of a chase against the value of the law enforcement objective."

"It's the deadliest in a string of recent crashes involving chases or aggressive driving tactics by immigration officers, and it has heightened concerns about risks to the general public."

A Guatemalan man faces vehicular homicide charges after crashing into another vehicle while allegedly fleeing immigration officers near Savannah, Georgia on February 16, killing special education teacher Linda Davis. This incident represents the deadliest in a series of recent crashes involving immigration enforcement pursuits and aggressive driving tactics. The incident has intensified concerns among policing experts about public safety risks, particularly following recent shootings by immigration agents in Minnesota. Law enforcement agencies have developed pursuit policies since the late 1980s that require officers to weigh chase risks against law enforcement objectives. Most departments now restrict high-speed pursuits to situations involving violent felonies or imminent life-threatening dangers. However, federal immigration agents often operate outside local pursuit policies, creating inconsistent enforcement standards.

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