Update todays AZ Republic
Prescott angered by fatal pursuit
Mark Shaffer
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 28, 2001
PRESCOTT - Prescott civic leaders on Saturday strongly condemned a
decision by Prescott Valley police to chase a stolen-vehicle suspect at
high speeds into downtown Prescott early Friday, resulting in a crash
that killed three people.
"Prescott Valley is going to have a hard time public relations-wise in
justifying this kind of thing," said Councilman Robert Behnke, a former
police officer in Pasadena, Calif. "I mean, what are their pursuit policies?
At some point, you have to say that you will back away and just say
that we will get the guy later."
Prescott Valley Police Chief Daniel
Schatz on Friday defended his
department's actions, saying that
the officers, without assistance from
other agencies, were "chasing a
violent, fleeing felon, and we were
making every attempt to take him
into custody."
Behnke said that he understood that "passions were high" after the
unidentified suspect struck an officer with the vehicle at a Prescott
Valley Circle K.
"But I would have thought that they would have thought about it and
called ahead for help from Prescott police" rather than just clearing it
with Prescott police to continue the pursuit, Behnke said.
Prescott police have a policy against pursuit through the city, Mayor
Sam Steiger said.
"That's (Prescott Valley's) not a very good police department," Steiger
said. "It's not just 'one of those things' to run through the heart of
Prescott like that."
Steiger said Prescott police officials were "disappointed" that tire spikes
were not requested by Prescott Valley police. The spikes could have
been placed at an interchange of Arizona 69 leading into downtown.
But Sgt. P.J. Janik of Prescott Valley police said it was "very difficult to
strategize where this guy was going."
Another problem was that the suspect was driving at a speed of 85 mph
or more and arrived at the intersection in about five minutes.
Plus, Janik said, "it wasn't like he was on a one-way section of freeway.
There were numerous roads that he could have turned on."
Bob White, deputy police chief in Flagstaff, said pursuits provide vexing
problems for officers.
White noted that Flagstaff police had sufficient time to place tire spikes
on U.S. 89A last week during a pursuit that had originated in Sedona.
The spikes detoured the fleeing suspects into a Flagstaff subdivision,
where they were apprehended.
"That ended well, or we could have had that story ending up right next to
this one," White said. "The fundamental component of our pursuit policy
is despite what the suspect did, our officers have to articulate whether
the danger is so great that something else will happen if they don't
pursue him."
Meanwhile, Prescott Valley police continued to try to identify the driver
of the stolen vehicle, which crashed into a pickup truck and killed
18-year-old Daniel Kamholz and Evan Spencer of Prescott and
25-year-old Wylld Ferro of Lake Havasu City.
Joe Hall, a friend of Kamholz, said the three had been shooting pool in a
downtown Prescott nightspot and had left to visit a girlfriend of one of the
victims when the fatal crash occurred.
Janik said that the suspect had no identification and could be an
immigrant from Latin America. Fingerprints were sent to the Immigration
and Naturalization Service for evaluation, Janik said.
Police also are seeking a second man who was inside the Circle K at
the time the chase began and could have been a passenger in the
stolen vehicle.
The vehicle that the man had been driving was reported stolen late
Thursday in the Prescott Country Club area.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/0128prescott28.html
Lots of people very angery about this,including ex-leo's.
Second thing is how much money is this going to cost the taxpayers?Lots I would assume.