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Deadly force behind the wheel
A police driving maneuver used to end chases has killed 30 people since 2016. Many departments refuse to use the tactic because of the risks.
Deadly force behind the wheel
By Shaun Raviv and John Sullivan Updated Aug. 24, 2020
Editor’s note: The videos in this story contain graphic content.
Shortly before midnight on March 28, 2017, a silver Dodge Caravan streaked past Highway Patrol Trooper Dustin A. Motsinger as he sat parked along a stretch of highway in rural North Carolina. Motsinger raced after the speeding van. The driver stopped, but as the trooper climbed out of his cruiser, the van drove off. Motsinger gave chase. .... “If you can PIT him, go ahead,” said the supervisor.
{snip}
The trooper’s maneuver was no accident — it was a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, a tactical driving maneuver for which he’d been trained. ... In a successful PIT, the pursuing officer uses the cruiser to push the fleeing vehicle’s rear end sideways, sending it into a spin and ending the pursuit. But the tactic can have deadly consequences.
So far this year, nine people have been killed nationwide in PIT maneuvers, including a 16-year-old who was driving a stolen car in Longmont, Colo., and a driver and passenger who were being chased by police for speeding in Creek County, Okla. Just this month, a 29-year-old suspected drunk driver who fled a traffic stop in Coweta County, Ga., died after a PIT maneuver.
Since 2016 at least 30 people have died, and hundreds have been injured — including some officers — when police used the maneuver to end pursuits, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. ... Out of those deaths, 18 came after officers attempted to stop vehicles for minor traffic violations such as speeding. In eight cases, police were pursuing a stolen car, and in two, drivers were suspected of serious felonies. Two other drivers had been reported as suicidal. ... Ten of the 30 killed were passengers in the fleeing vehicles; four were bystanders or the victim of a crime.
{snip}
Julie Tate, Steven Rich, Ana Chacin and Justine Coleman contributed to this report, which was published in partnership with the Investigative Reporting Workshop, where Chacin and Coleman were fellows.
Shaun Raviv
Shaun Raviv is a freelance journalist based in Atlanta. He has written features for Wired, Smithsonian, BuzzFeed, The Ringer, Deadspin, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Washington Post.
John Sullivan
John Sullivan is a reporter on The Washington Post's Investigations team, an investigative reporter in residence at American University and a senior editor at the Investigative Reporting Workshop. His work has earned numerous awards, including the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, which he shared with colleagues at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
About the story
Originally published Aug. 23, 2020.
Graphics by Shelly Tan. Story editing by David S. Fallis. Design and additional editing by Courtney Kan. Copy editing by Karen Funfgeld. Video editing by Amber Ferguson. Photo editing by Nick Kirkpatrick.
Deadly force behind the wheel
By Shaun Raviv and John Sullivan Updated Aug. 24, 2020
Editor’s note: The videos in this story contain graphic content.
Shortly before midnight on March 28, 2017, a silver Dodge Caravan streaked past Highway Patrol Trooper Dustin A. Motsinger as he sat parked along a stretch of highway in rural North Carolina. Motsinger raced after the speeding van. The driver stopped, but as the trooper climbed out of his cruiser, the van drove off. Motsinger gave chase. .... “If you can PIT him, go ahead,” said the supervisor.
{snip}
The trooper’s maneuver was no accident — it was a PIT, or precision immobilization technique, a tactical driving maneuver for which he’d been trained. ... In a successful PIT, the pursuing officer uses the cruiser to push the fleeing vehicle’s rear end sideways, sending it into a spin and ending the pursuit. But the tactic can have deadly consequences.
So far this year, nine people have been killed nationwide in PIT maneuvers, including a 16-year-old who was driving a stolen car in Longmont, Colo., and a driver and passenger who were being chased by police for speeding in Creek County, Okla. Just this month, a 29-year-old suspected drunk driver who fled a traffic stop in Coweta County, Ga., died after a PIT maneuver.
Since 2016 at least 30 people have died, and hundreds have been injured — including some officers — when police used the maneuver to end pursuits, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. ... Out of those deaths, 18 came after officers attempted to stop vehicles for minor traffic violations such as speeding. In eight cases, police were pursuing a stolen car, and in two, drivers were suspected of serious felonies. Two other drivers had been reported as suicidal. ... Ten of the 30 killed were passengers in the fleeing vehicles; four were bystanders or the victim of a crime.
{snip}
Julie Tate, Steven Rich, Ana Chacin and Justine Coleman contributed to this report, which was published in partnership with the Investigative Reporting Workshop, where Chacin and Coleman were fellows.
Shaun Raviv
Shaun Raviv is a freelance journalist based in Atlanta. He has written features for Wired, Smithsonian, BuzzFeed, The Ringer, Deadspin, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Washington Post.
John Sullivan
John Sullivan is a reporter on The Washington Post's Investigations team, an investigative reporter in residence at American University and a senior editor at the Investigative Reporting Workshop. His work has earned numerous awards, including the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, which he shared with colleagues at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
About the story
Originally published Aug. 23, 2020.
Graphics by Shelly Tan. Story editing by David S. Fallis. Design and additional editing by Courtney Kan. Copy editing by Karen Funfgeld. Video editing by Amber Ferguson. Photo editing by Nick Kirkpatrick.