Citizen-led oversight board to make recommendations to San Diego Police's vehicle pursuit policy

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The Commission on Police Practices, a San Diego Police Department oversight board, will call for major changes to the department’s vehicle pursuit policy.

The Wednesday meeting for the recommendations will be at the Mountain View Community Center at 4:30 p.m.

The meeting will only be for recommendations for SDPD to consider; no vote will take place and SDPD will not be required to take any action.

The new recommendations come less than a year after two kids were killed as innocent bystanders during an SDPD pursuit.

In March, Tasha Williamson with the Commission on Police Practices said on behalf of the mother who lost her children, "Every day she thinks about her children. It's hard for her to sleep at night without thinking about her children. If police had ended this pursuit and followed SDPD procedures, her sons would be alive today."

At the Wednesday meeting, the Commission on Police Practices will make several recommendations, which they state are in alignment with the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies across the country.

It released a more than 40-page report detailing recommendations on improving the San Diego Police Department's current pursuit policy. The board said they looked at best practices from 17 California and seven nationwide law enforcement agencies.

The current SDPD pursuit policy states, "Officers must balance the need to protect the public with the apparent need to capture the suspect immediately when initiating a chase."

Major recommendations include:

1. Limiting vehicle pursuits to incidents involving violent felonies.
   
2. Emphasize that pursuits shall only be initiated for extremely serious allegations involving life or death situations to prioritize safety and minimize risks to all parties involved.
   
3. The Commission recommends that supervisors must actively monitor and approve vehicle pursuits.
   
4. The procedure should explicitly state that the driving officer(s) may end a pursuit without authorization when they deem doing so is in the best interest of public safety.
   
5. They also suggest Creating a Vehicle Pursuit Review Board and Implementing robust training and review processes.