The decision by a Memphis Police officer to engage in a car chase of a suspect is a well-defined and complex series of steps outlined in police policy and modified several times since the first pursuit policy in 1985.

It starts with a call to a police supervisor — lieutenant or above — within one minute of the time a patrol officer begins a pursuit. The supervisor makes the call on beginning the chase and ending it.

Police policy does not make a distinction between following a suspect and chasing a suspect by car.

What happens with most local drag racing charges? They’re dismissed

Here are the basics of the MPD pursuit policy from the police manual:

Read MPD’s full policy here by referring to pages 612 to 622. 

Definitions: 

PURSUIT - an event that is initiated when a law enforcement officer, operating an authorized emergency vehicle, gives notice to stop (either through the use of visual or audible emergency signals or a combination of emergency devices) to a motorist who the officer is attempting to stop, and the motorist fails to comply with the signal by either maintaining his or her speed, increasing speed or taking other evasive action to elude the officer’s continued attempts to stop the motorist. When the driver who, when required to stop in the approved manner and having had the opportunity to do so, indicates by their actions or continuance of their manner of driving that they have no intention of stopping for police and the police driver believes that the driver of the subject vehicle is aware of the requirement to stop and decides to continue behind the subject vehicle with a mindset to either report its progress or stop it, the police driver will be deemed to be in a pursuit.

TRAILING/FOLLOWING - The simple act of following along behind the violator while giving both visual and audible indication that the violator should stop, and advising dispatch and other units of the violator’s location and actions. The terms “trailing” or “following” should no longer be used in the context of police pursuits. Research has shown that there is no difference in the behavior of the officers involved in either a pursuit or the act of following or trailing.

UNACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF DANGER - the degree of danger created when the need for immediate apprehension is insufficient to warrant the initiation or continuation of a pursuit due to conditions exceeding the performance capabilities of driver and vehicle; if the pursuit involves excessive speed, reckless driving and other factors. In determining whether an unacceptable level of danger potentially exists, an officer must be aware, and continuously consider and evaluate conditions such as:

1. Time of day/night and expected density of traffic ordinarily present.
2. Weather conditions and its effect on traction, maneuverability and visibility.
3. Special conditions that may exist in the area of the pursuit, i.e. school zones, public gatherings, crowds, road construction etc.
4. Whether the identity of the occupant(s) is known and immediate apprehension is not necessary to protect the public or police officers and apprehension later is feasible;
5. The seriousness of the offense;
6. The presence of other persons in the police vehicle.

Vehicle pursuits are authorized only when an officer has probable cause to believe that one or more occupants of a fleeing vehicle have committed a Violent Felony.

In those cases, the officer initiating the pursuit must activate lights and siren, then immediately provide the dispatcher with the following information:

1. Unit number of officer requesting authorization to initiate pursuit
2. Location and direction of travel
3. Speed of vehicles involved
4. Description of suspect(s) and suspect vehicle
5. Applicable criminal charge(s) involving the suspect(s)
6. Any other pertinent information, i.e., weapons, hostages, identity of person, etc.

Authorization to pursue must be obtained from a supervisor at the rank of Lieutenant or above within one minute of pursuit origination or the pursuit must be terminated by the officer.

Vehicle pursuits will be strictly prohibited under the following circumstances:

1. When the officer knows that the suspect is wanted only for a traffic violation, a misdemeanor or a non-violent felony.
2. When the officer has failed to obtain supervisory approval within one minute of pursuit origination.
3. When the pursuit has reached an unacceptable level, as defined in Section II of this policy. See definition above of Unacceptable Level of Danger.
4. When the officer fails to activate audible (siren) and visual (blue lights) signals upon initiation of a pursuit.
5. When the pursuing police vehicle(s) is occupied by anyone other than a commissioned police officer.
6. When the officer has reason to believe that his/her police vehicle is mechanically defective or otherwise unsafe for pursuit or emergency response.