A Lonoke County man died Monday after an Arkansas State Police trooper used the controversial PIT maneuver to finish a high-speed chase, the company introduced at the moment.
Andrew Muggs, 25, died when the chase ended with a crash. A report from the State Police mentioned “Muggs was endangering the lives of different motorists by exceeding 100 mph and passing autos on the left shoulder through the 14-mile pursuit, which was initiated on Landers Highway by the Sherwood Police Division.”
Muggs’ dying is much from the primary introduced in regards to the sterile-sounding however typically lethal tactic referred to as the PIT (precision immobilization approach) maneuver, or TVI (tactical car intervention). In these managed crashes, officers nudge their very own vehicles into the rear facet of the goal car, inflicting it to spin out and ideally come to a cease.
The perfect final result didn’t occur Monday, although, seemingly as a result of the chase was reportedly reaching speeds above 100 mph. Many consultants say PIT maneuvers aren’t protected at excessive speeds. The Los Angeles Police Division, for instance, doesn’t permit its officers to make use of PIT maneuvers at speeds over 35 mph.
The Arkansas State Police have taken warmth for deploying PIT maneuvers earlier than. In 2021, State Police settled a lawsuit with Janice Harper, whose automobile spun uncontrolled and flipped over in 2020 when an officer tried to cease her close to Jacksonville utilizing the managed crash methodology. Harper was pregnant on the time.
Trooper Rodney Dunn mentioned Harper had been rushing. Harper mentioned she slowed and turned on her hazard lights, however delayed stopping due to the slender shoulder on a roadway underneath development.
The latest PIT maneuver dying in Arkansas occurred in July 2022, when a 19-year-old Kentucky man died after a state trooper used a PIT maneuver to cease him close to Forrest Metropolis.
Harper’s lawsuit prompted State Police to replace their coaching and coverage on when PIT/TVI maneuvers are acceptable.
Cindy Murphy, a spokesperson for Arkansas State Police, mentioned troopers tread rigorously when deciding whether or not to make use of managed crashes.
“We’re very intentional about coaching troopers to make use of PIT to finish a pursuit rapidly to guard the lives and property of the residents of Arkansas,” she mentioned by e-mail. Recruits log 76 hours of driver coaching in troop college, then between eight and 16 hours yearly after that, she mentioned.
The Washington Submit investigated the usage of PIT maneuvers nationwide in 2020. Their story included video of Arkansas State Police in Fort Smith executing a PIT maneuver at 109 mph on April 10, 2020. Justin Battenfield died within the ensuing crash, and the officer was injured. From the Washington Submit story:
Since 2016 at the least 30 folks have died, and tons of have been injured — together with some officers — when police used the maneuver to finish pursuits, in line with an investigation by The Washington Submit.
Out of these deaths, 18 got here after officers tried to cease autos for minor visitors violations equivalent to rushing. In eight circumstances, police had been pursuing a stolen automobile, and in two, drivers had been suspected of significant felonies. Two different drivers had been reported as suicidal.
Ten of the 30 killed had been passengers within the fleeing autos; 4 had been bystanders or the sufferer of against the law.
THV11’s Rolly Hoyt regarded on the Arkansas numbers in February of this 12 months and located that PIT maneuvers stay a go-to tactic. He reported:
Knowledge from the Arkansas State Police exhibits a mean of 482 pursuits a 12 months from 2018 by 2021, with troopers utilizing a P.I.T. maneuver to cease a chase a mean of 108 occasions. That equals about two per week. In that point, three suspects died, and 204 others had been injured with 43 troopers and 38 civilians additionally harm.
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