Police pursuits are a standard part of law enforcement operating procedure, an often necessary tactic employed to curb serious criminal behavior. Yet they’re also particularly dangerous: in the U.S. between 2017 and 2022, 3,336 people were killed during police pursuits.
This study, which will in part limit its focus to Georgia statistics and the Georgia State Patrol, will look at pursuit crash statistics in detail and evaluate to what extent pursuits are unnecessarily unsafe. It will also consider the implications of dangerous state patrol pursuits and highlight how the issue has become such a problem.
Before we focus closely on Georgia data, let’s put the state into a broader national context.
U.S. Police Pursuit Numbers
Most U.S. police pursuits are carried out during the spring and summer. Of the 3,336 people killed between 2017 and 2022 during countrywide police pursuits, these are the key fatality months.
During the years in question, 2020 featured the most fatalities (697); March 18, 2021, featured the most police pursuit deaths (10) in a single day.
When we consider the five states that featured the most police pursuit fatalities during the period in question, we can see that Georgia features prominently.
| State | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| Texas | 414 |
| California | 367 |
| Georgia | 243 |
| Missouri | 127 |
| Florida | 124 |
Here’s a more granular breakdown of figures, looking at the counties that feature the most police pursuit fatalities.
And narrowing our focus further, here are the U.S. cities that feature the highest number of police pursuit fatalities.
Gender, Race, and Age
In terms of police pursuit crash deaths by gender, far more men (2543) were killed than women (746). In 46 fatality cases, the gender was not known or confirmed, while one victim was classified as ‘Nonbinary’.
When we look at national police pursuit deaths by race, study data tells us that more White people (1243) are killed than any other group, closely followed by Black people (1027). White Latino (393) and Latino (124) people suffered significant casualties, with a further 358 police pursuit crash deaths attributed to ‘Unknown’ victims.
And if we look at police pursuit fatality age groups, the 25-34 age bracket (929 fatalities) is the one hit hardest, followed by 18-24 year-olds (800), 35-44 year-olds (550), 0-17 year-olds (342), and the 45-54 year-old age group (292).
The Reasons Given For A Police Pursuit
So, we’ve considered the gender, race, and age of police pursuit fatality victims. But those figures offer very little information about what’s happening during a police pursuit: when we see that, combined, bystander and passenger fatality figures exceed the number of drivers killed during a police pursuit, alarm bells may justifiably begin to ring.
In the vast majority of cases, the driver is the person of police interest and the reason for a pursuit. And the bystander and passenger fatality numbers largely represent people of no direct interest to the police.
As such, the fatality numbers – over 1,000 bystanders (551 fatalities) and passengers (548 fatalities) killed during police pursuits – suggest that more innocent people die during a pursuit than the drivers (920 fatalities) who triggered the initial decision to carry out a pursuit. This, in turn, suggests that pursuit techniques are inefficient and unsafe.
This suggestion is augmented by further study data that looks at the reasons given by law enforcement for carrying out pursuits. In the vast majority of cases, fatal police pursuits are carried out as part of a traffic stop (949 fatalities) or due to a suspected nonviolent crime (574 fatalities). While traffic stop pursuits could be due to suspected criminal activity, such as being drunk at the wheel, the category also includes speeding or offenses such as a broken taillight.
As such, a dangerous high-speed pursuit over a minor infraction seems excessive – particularly when innocent bystanders and passengers are likely to be brought into the fray, and potentially killed.
The excessive nature of fatalities for comparatively minor issues (or issues that might be better resolved in a non-dangerous, administrative manner) is compounded when we look at the number of fatalities that occurred while police pursued drivers suspected of a violent crime (284). Compared to the suspected nonviolent crime numbers (574 fatalities), these numbers seem disproportionately low and indicative of imbalanced priorities.
An additional 39 pursuit fatalities were due to minor incidents or no suspected crime, numbers that further augment a sense of excessive use of dangerous pursuit tactics.
And when we look at the highest fatality numbers among individual law enforcement agencies, the Georgia State Patrol figures are the highest of all.
Fatalities by Law Enforcement Agency
| Agency | Number Of People Killed |
|---|---|
| Georgia State Patrol | 43 |
| California Highway Patrol | 40 |
| U.S. Border Patrol | 32 |
| Houston Police Department | 27 |
| Chicago Police Department | 22 |
| Kansas City Police Department | 19 |
| Texas Department Of Public Safety | 19 |
| Virginia State Police | 17 |
| Harris County Sheriff’s Office | 16 |
| Milwaukee Police Department | 16 |
| Los Angeles Police Department | 16 |
| St. Louis Metropolitan PD | 14 |
| Detroit Police Department | 13 |
| North Carolina State Highway Patrol | 12 |
As a whole, Georgia featured 243 total fatalities between 2017 and 2022. Here’s a year-by-year breakdown, with 2020 representing by far the worst year for pursuit fatalities, and a considerable drop-off in 2022.
| Year | Police Pursuit Fatalities |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 34 |
| 2018 | 39 |
| 2019 | 32 |
| 2020 | 67 |
| 2021 | 49 |
| 2022 | 22 |
The worst day for police pursuit fatalities during this period was September 27, 2019, with five people dying during a disastrous pursuit following an attempted traffic stop.
They included two elderly women who perished after their vehicles were struck by the fleeing vehicle, and three occupants of the pursued vehicle, including the driver. When we consider the danger and severity of the incident, it’s worth pointing out that the driver was wanted for two outstanding warrants relating to minor offenses committed beyond Georgia’s jurisdiction.
That five people died under such circumstances – including two innocent passengers of incidental vehicles – once again suggests unnecessarily dangerous and excessive employment of pursuit tactics.
Let’s look more closely at Georgia’s pursuit fatality figures, by county and city, with Fulton and Atlanta, respectively, far and away the locations featuring most fatalities.
Top Five Georgia Fatality Counties
| County | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| Fulton | 37 |
| Chatham | 14 |
| Clayton | 10 |
| Whitfield | 8 |
| Dekalb | 8 |
Top Five Georgia Fatality Cities
| City | Fatalities |
|---|---|
| Atlanta | 24 |
| Savannah | 6 |
| Midway | 5 |
| Jackson | 5 |
| Tunnel Hill | 5 |
In terms of male and female fatalities, Georgia trends mirror the national picture, with far more men (196) than women (43) killed during a police pursuit.
Similarly, when we look at age figures, the 25-34 age group is subject to the highest number of police pursuit fatalities (68), as is the case nationally. 18-24 (62 fatalities), 35-44 (49), 0-17 (23), and 45-54 (17) figures broadly replicate national patterns.
We can also see a rough equivalent regarding a disproportionate number of pursuits carried out following traffic stops (65 fatalities) and suspected non-violent criminality (39), with far less serious suspected violent criminals (17) killed during a chase.
But Georgia patterns diverge significantly from national trend patterns when we look at who is killed during pursuit crashes. Compared to national figures, a much bigger proportion of passengers and bystanders (80 in total) were killed than the drivers who instigated the police pursuit (55).
And, despite White people forming the majority of national police pursuit crash death victims, in Georgia, far more (more than double, in fact) Black people (139) than White (66) were killed during a police pursuit.
The Pursuit of Safer Police Chase Tactics
Nationally, there’s a clear problem when it comes to both the proportion of non-serious criminals being pursued and killed during U.S. police pursuits and the proportion of bystanders and passengers who end up dead during a police chase. And the problem is pronounced in Georgia, which ranks third overall for most police pursuit fatalities, and first for individual police agency fatality numbers.
It’s not just a matter of fatality numbers. Georgia’s proportion of police pursuit fatalities and injuries suffered by innocent bystanders and passengers might well be due to Georgia State Patrol allowing its troopers discretion regarding their justification for a pursuit.
This is unlike how things are done in 42 other states with better police pursuit fatality numbers, where police pursuits require supervisor approval.
The comparative results in Georgia speak for themselves. With troopers able to initiate a chase without first seeking supervisory discretion, standards inevitably slip; the trend for initiating a dangerous chase, often over a minor infraction (87% of Georgia State Patrol pursuits in 2023 related to ‘non-felony violations’, continues unchecked.
And, ultimately, significant numbers of people needlessly die, especially Black people, who are twice as likely to be killed during a Georgia State Patrol pursuit.
Georgia State Patrol’s pursuit tactics don’t fly under the radar: their social media presence is one of aggressive intolerance, and the term ‘GSP don’t play’ is now synonymous with the agency.
ut this approach is clearly unsafe and runs counter to key study data that confirms that calling off non-felony pursuits is often the simplest and clearest way to save injuries and fatalities.
A dangerous high–speed pursuit over a minor infraction seems excessive – particularly when innocent bystanders and passengers are likely to be brought into the fray, and potentially killed
As things stand, it’s certainly clear that the Georgia State Patrol could do more to improve pursuit safety. And it may simply be the case that the Patrol carries out too many pursuits, with just 14 days in 2023 free of a police chase. And, of the 6,760 pursuits carried out between 2019 and 2023, an incredible 3,428 (over half) ended in a crash; with 1,917 people injured and 63 killed.
Responding to criticism around the public safety and legal liability aspects of the Patrol’s tactics, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Capt.
Michael Burns said the agency’s pursuit policy is ‘proportionally responsive’ to roadway crime, including street racing, aggressive driving, and speeding. Burns also says that the Patrol’s policy is based on ‘state and federal law, judicial rulings, dedicated training, and sound principles of law enforcement.’
Countering that view is Devin Barrington-Ward, the director of communications for the National Police Accountability Project. ‘The majority of highway patrol situations indicate that there’s a lack of responsibility and carelessness as it pertains to preserving the safety of the public,’ Barrington-Ward said.
Going forward, a less ‘loose’ approach and a much more cautious prioritization (in line with the vast majority of states across the U.S.) would seem necessary. And one single tactical adjustment would make all the difference.
By observing the Atlanta Police Department’s pursuit policy that “Officers can only pursue a vehicle when they have direct knowledge that the person fleeing has committed or tried to commit a forcible felony or would pose an imminent threat if they weren’t caught,” the Georgia State Patrol would avoid needless, dangerous high-speed pursuits and spare many innocent lives.
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