Officers with the Atlanta (GA) Police Department will not be allowed to engage in a vehicle pursuit after Chief Erika Shields sent a letter to her personnel stating that the agency is implementing a "no pursuit" policy effective immediately.
According to 11Alive, Chief Shields cited the level of pursuit training received by officers who are engaging in the pursuits, the rate of occurrence of injury/death as a result of the pursuits as two of the reasons for the policy change.
Shields said in the letter, "At this point and time, the department is assuming an enormous amount of risk to the safety of officers and the public for each pursuit, knowing that the judicial system is largely unresponsive to the actions of the defendants."
She stated, "The department has a zero-chase policy and this is effective immediately" and added, "I realize this will not be a popular decision."
