[Adopted 12-6-1988]
The Guilderland Police Department recognizes the potential danger involved in vehicle pursuits, and the necessity of enforcing the laws of the State of New York. It shall be the policy of this Department that all pursuits be conducted with the safety of the officer, the general public and the offender first and foremost in the thoughts of the officer. The pursuit shall be terminated at any point when the danger to the public becomes greater, by virtue of the pursuit, than it would be if the offender were allowed to go free.
A. 
The officer shall immediately notify the dispatcher of the pursuit.
B. 
The dispatcher shall immediately notify a supervisor of the pursuit.
C. 
The supervisor shall monitor the pursuit in an attempt to evaluate and determine if and when the pursuit should be terminated.
A. 
Procedure. The dispatcher shall be notified as follows:
(1) 
Give the location.
(2) 
Give the direction of travel.
(3) 
Give the following information of the offender's or offenders' vehicle(s):
(a) 
Color.
(b) 
Type.
(c) 
Make.
(d) 
Model.
(e) 
License information (number, state).
(f) 
Number of occupants.
(g) 
Type of occupants (male, female, adult, juvenile).
(4) 
Give the reason for pursuit, nature of the offense, any weapons involved or thought to be involved, shots fired and injuries to police.
(5) 
Give any other important or pertinent information.
B. 
Officers will conduct all pursuits with red lights and sirens on at all times.
C. 
Officers will use caution at all times, especially at intersections and other high-hazard areas.
D. 
Officers involved in a pursuit shall continuously be aware of the surroundings, other traffic, pedestrians, weather and other factors which may influence the decision to continue the pursuit.
E. 
No officer is obligated in any way to either initiate or continue any pursuit or high-speed driving for any reason.
F. 
Each officer is responsible for the safe use and control of the vehicle that he or she is driving.
G. 
Officers will not operate their vehicle in a reckless manner.
H. 
In a pursuit initiated by members of the Guilderland Police Department, the pursuit may be continued for a reasonable period of time until advised otherwise by a supervisor or until such time as the danger to the public becomes greater by virtue of the pursuit than it would be should the offender be allowed to go free. No more than one unit, and a backup unit following at a reasonable distance and speed, shall be in pursuit of the same vehicle, unless otherwise ordered by a supervisor.
I. 
A pursuit not initiated by the Guilderland Police Department may be continued until the jurisdictional boundary of the Town of Guilderland is met, at which time the pursuit shall be terminated by members of the Guilderland Police Department, unless otherwise advised by a supervisor, or the situation is such that the initiating agency requires the assistance of the Guilderland Police Department.
J. 
Officers will not initiate a road block of any type without an order from a supervisor directing this.
K. 
"Rolling roadblocks" and channeling of offender vehicles will not be used, except in the gravest of circumstances, and only at that point wherein the danger to the public in general is so great as to necessitate the immediate stopping of the offender vehicle.
L. 
Ramming any other vehicle is prohibited and subject to disciplinary action.
A. 
The dispatcher, after receiving pertinent information from the officer(s) involved in the pursuit, shall immediately notify the supervisor and all other units of the pursuit and all information received from the member(s) involved and log the times they were notified.
B. 
The dispatcher shall immediately demand radio silence of all fire, emergency medical services (EMS), animal control and any other agencies under the control of the Guilderland Communications Center and of units not directly involved in the pursuit.
C. 
The dispatcher shall log the beginning time of the pursuit.
D. 
The dispatcher shall read the following statement to all units involved in the high-speed pursuit and doing the aforementioned duties: "You are advised to terminate this pursuit at any time that the danger to the public by reason of this pursuit exceeds the danger to the public if this offender is allowed to go free. You are under no obligation to continue this pursuit."
E. 
The dispatcher shall log the time that this statement was read and notify other agencies as requested.
F. 
The dispatcher shall monitor the Mobile Radio District frequencies and other police frequencies for interagency traffic and advise all the units involved of any pertinent information from other agencies.
A. 
Upon notification of the pursuit, the supervisor shall:
(1) 
Begin monitoring of the pursuit.
(2) 
Patrol in the direction of the pursuit.
(3) 
Advise the dispatcher to give the pursuit statement if it has not already been given.
B. 
The supervisor will:
(1) 
Note traffic conditions.
(2) 
Note roadway conditions.
(3) 
Note the time of day.
(4) 
Note weather conditions.
(5) 
Note the type of district or neighborhood that the pursuit occurs in.
(6) 
Note the type of offense.
C. 
Supervisor's decision.
(1) 
When it is felt that the danger to the public safety is greater by virtue of the pursuit than the danger to the public by virtue of the offender going free, the supervisor shall terminate the pursuit.
(2) 
If it is felt that the pursuit can be allowed to continue, the supervisor shall advise the units involved to use caution and to discontinue the pursuit if the danger becomes too great.
(3) 
The supervisor shall monitor the pursuit and, if necessary at some time because of weather, road conditions, population density or other conditions, the supervisor may order the pursuit terminated.
(4) 
At termination of the pursuit, the supervisor shall take charge of securing evidence and prisoner(s), if any, and cause detailed statements to be written concerning the pursuit by all members involved in the pursuit.