Elmhurst Notes Spike In Police Chases

Crime & Safety

Elmhurst Notes Spike In Police Chases The chief wants new technology to protect the public from pursuits.

Elmhurst Police Chief Michael McLean told the City Council this week that his department wants to buy technology to more safely handle police pursuits. (David Giuliani/Patch)

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst's police chief said this week he wants to do something about the increasing trend of police chases.

So far this year, the police have reported 85 situations in which drivers flee from officers, Police Chief Michael McLean said. That's a 100 percent increase from a few years ago, he said.

In April, McLean said he was alarmed when a chase entered Elmhurst from another town and headed toward a school during dismissal.

The driver hit a school bus near York High School. Only the driver was on the bus, and the driver was not injured, McLean said. The suspect then got into two other crashes.

"We knew it was coming our way," the chief said at Monday's City Council meeting. "My officers and my department had nothing to do to stop this. We couldn't slow it down."

He said the police encounter all types of fleeing suspects. Some are serious, such as the armed robbery suspects with guns who entered town last week, he said. Others are fleeing for minor offenses.

The department's pursuit policy, McLean said, has not changed. Officers chase suspects who are believed to have committed violent crimes and pose a danger to the public, he said.

At the same time, the department ends pursuits of traffic violators and those suspected of low-level property crimes.

McLean said officers have long deployed what are known as Stop Sticks to deflate suspects' tires in chases.

"They are dangerous for the officer. They have to stand on the side of the road and throw a Stop Stick in front of a moving car that is going at high speed," McLean said.

Other departments are buying Stop Sticks with a remote function, so officers can stand 100 feet away, he said. That is a technology the local department would like to get.

McLean also said the department wants to buy devices that deploy GPS tags on fleeing drivers' cars.

That allows police to back off and track the car's location, he said.

"Hopefully, the person fleeing doesn't see the police behind them and they're driving a little better, which is safer for everyone," McLean said.

His department is requesting $50,000 in next year's budget to buy such technologies.

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