U.S. border officials have finally released a long-awaited updated vehicle pursuit policy that advocates demanded last year, following an alarming number of fatalities tied to Border Patrol’s high-speed chases. 22 were killed as a result of pursuits in 2021, compared to two deaths in 2019. While Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cautioned that the policy does not outright ban chases, the agency said the updated directive “provides a clear framework for weighing the risks of conducting pursuits,” including “dangers they present to the public.” Civil rights advocates said they welcomed the directive, noting the guidelines specifically bans dangerous driving technique used by law enforcement.
“We can only wonder how many lives would’ve been saved had CBP implemented these best practices sooner,” said Rebecca Sheff, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico.
RELATED STORY: CBP to issue new vehicle pursuit policy, after 22 killed in 2021 due to Border Patrol's chases
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CBP said in a release that in working on the guidelines, the agency “reviewed more than two dozen vehicle pursuit policies from various enforcement agencies across the country, as well as model policies created by states.” The release said the directive “lays out factors to consider when deciding if a vehicle should be pursued, and when a pursuit should be terminated.” The memo itself states that CBP’s Law Enforcement Safety and Compliance will work on a phased implementation plan with a goal of mandatory compliance “following the completion of this phased implementation roll-out on May 1, 2023.”
Advocates had demanded accountability following Jan. 2022 reporting on a dramatic escalation in vehicle pursuits that resulted in nearly two dozen deaths in 2021. Southwest chapters of the ACLU had noted that CBP had for years resisted publicly posting its vehicle pursuit policy, until last fall. While the (now-former) CBP commissioner had promised in May that the agency would “soon” release an updated policy, nothing had been publicly released even as deadly crashes continued on. Earlier this month, two were killed and eight were injured following a chase outside Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Because border officials are secretive about the number of deaths that result from their officers’ abuses, it’s difficult to track down the exact number of people who’ve been killed as a result of the agency’s high-speed chases. But the ACLU of Texas said it tracked 71 deaths related to chases since 2010, with the number only “trending upward in recent years.” The organization said, “the true number is likely higher; not all Border Patrol pursuits that end in injury or death result in a criminal complaint, such as cases where the driver dies.”
“Preserving human life is paramount, and this policy makes that a central consideration by adopting many widely accepted best practices, such as banning dangerous techniques like PIT maneuvers,” Sheff said in a statement. Oversight will be critical in ensuring compliance, because the agents instructed in the memo to please “exercise self-discipline and sound professional judgment” are the same agents that belong to the most corrupt federal law enforcement agency in the nation. Still, Sheff called the changes “an important step forward for our border communities who have borne the brunt of CBP’s deadly pursuits.”
“These chases occurred indiscriminately and endangered not only people in the other vehicles but the public as well,” said ACLU of Texas attorney Bernardo Rafael Cruz. “We welcome a revised CBP vehicle pursuit policy but will continue to review its implementation and seek accountability for any actions by Border Patrol agents that harm our communities.”
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