Chapter 3E. Use of Vehicular Pursuits.

§ 5–365.01. Definitions.

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on June 9, 2024. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation, click this link: Permanent Version.*

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, the term:

(1) "Boxing in" means a practice or tactic in which law enforcement officers intentionally surround a suspect motor vehicle with pursuit vehicles and then reduce the traveling speed of the pursuit vehicles with the intent to stop or slow the suspect motor vehicle.

(2) "Caravanning" means a practice or tactic in which a law enforcement officer operates a pursuit vehicle without maintaining a reasonable distance between another pursuit vehicle.

(3) "Crime of violence" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 23-1331(4).

(4) "Deploying a roadblock" means a tactic or practice in which a law enforcement officer intentionally places a vehicle or object in the path of the suspect vehicle with the intent to stop the suspect motor vehicle.

(5)(A) "Deploying a tire deflation device" means a tactic or practice in which a law enforcement officer intentionally places or activates a device that extends across the roadway with the intent to slow or stop a suspect vehicle.

(B) The term "deploying a tire deflation device" does not include raising bollards or other barricades when:

(i) The bollard or barricade is clearly visible to the operator of the suspect motor vehicle; and

(ii) The bollard or barricade is raised in a manner that provides the operator of the suspect motor vehicle adequate time to safely avoid the bollard or barricade.

(6) "Law enforcement officer" shall have the same meaning as provided in § 23-501(2).

(7) "Motor vehicle" means an automobile, all-terrain vehicle, a motorcycle, moped, or any other vehicle designed to be propelled only by an internal-combustion engine or electricity.

(8) "Paralleling" means a practice or tactic in which a law enforcement officer operates a pursuit vehicle in the same direction and at approximately the same speed as the suspect motor vehicle using another street or highway parallel to the direction or route of the suspect motor vehicle.

(9) "Pursuit vehicle" means any motor vehicle operated by a law enforcement officer during a vehicular pursuit of a fleeing suspect.

(10) "Ramming" means a tactic in which a law enforcement officer intentionally causes a pursuit vehicle to come into physical contact with a suspect motor vehicle with the intent to damage, slow, or stop the suspect motor vehicle, regardless of the speed of the pursuit vehicle.

(11) "Serious bodily injury" means extreme physical pain, illness, or impairment of physical condition, including physical injury that involves:

(A) A substantial risk of death;

(B) Protracted and obvious disfigurement;

(D) Protracted loss of consciousness.

(12) "Vehicular pursuit" means the operation of a pursuit vehicle in a manner that is not consistent with the posted speed limit or other applicable traffic regulations in an attempt to apprehend a suspect who is eluding apprehension while operating a motor vehicle.

§ 5–365.02. Law enforcement vehicular pursuit reform.

(a) A law enforcement officer shall not engage in a vehicular pursuit of a suspect motor vehicle unless the law enforcement officer actually and reasonably believes:

(1) The fleeing suspect:

(A) Has committed or attempted to commit a crime of violence; or

(B) Poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to another person;

(2) The vehicular pursuit is:

(A) Immediately necessary to protect another person, other than the fleeing suspect or suspects, from the threat of serious bodily injury or death; and

(B) Under the totality of circumstances, not likely to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, other than to the fleeing suspect or suspects; and

(3) All other options have been exhausted or do not reasonably lend themselves to the circumstances.

(b) In any grand jury, criminal, delinquency, or civil proceeding where an officer's use of a vehicular pursuit is a material issue, the trier of fact shall consider:

(1) The reasonableness of the law enforcement officer's belief and actions from the perspective of a reasonable law enforcement officer; and

(2) The totality of the circumstances, which shall include:

(A) Whether the identity of the suspect was known;

(B) Whether the suspect could have been apprehended at a later time;

(C) The likelihood of a person, including the suspect motor vehicle's occupants, being endangered by the vehicular pursuit, including the type of area, the time of day, the amount of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and the speed of the vehicular pursuit;

(D) The availability of other means to apprehend or track the fleeing suspect, such as helicopters;

(E) Whether circumstances arose during the vehicular pursuit that rendered the pursuit futile or would have required the vehicular pursuit to continue for an unreasonable time or distance, including:

(i) The distance between the pursuing law enforcement officers and the fleeing motor vehicle; and

(ii) Whether visual contact with the suspect motor vehicle was lost, or the suspect motor vehicle's location was no longer known;

(F) Whether the law enforcement officer's pursuit vehicle sustained damage or a mechanical failure that rendered it unsafe to operate;

(G) Whether the law enforcement officer was directed to terminate the pursuit by the pursuit supervisor or a higher-ranking supervisor;

(H) The law enforcement officer's training and experience;

(I) Whether anyone in the suspect motor vehicle:

(i) Appeared to possess, either on their person or in a location where it is readily available, a dangerous weapon; and

(ii) Was afforded an opportunity to comply with an order to surrender any suspected dangerous weapons;

(J) Whether the law enforcement officer, or another law enforcement officer in close proximity, engaged in reasonable de-escalation measures;

(K) Whether any conduct by the law enforcement officer prior to the vehicular pursuit unreasonably increased the risk of a confrontation resulting in a vehicular pursuit; and

(L) Whether the law enforcement officer made all reasonable efforts to prevent harm, including abandoning efforts to apprehend the suspect.

(c)(1) The following practices or tactics employed by a law enforcement officer shall constitute a serious use of force:

(A) Boxing in;

(B) Caravanning;

(D) Deploying a tire deflation device; and

(E) Paralleling.

(2) Ramming shall constitute a use of deadly force.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to permit any of the above practices or tactics, to the extent they are prohibited by District law or by a law enforcement agency.