A draft policy mandates Seattle police allow DUI suspects to flee, even when they’re in stolen cars. And if a DUI suspect in a vehicle refuses to comply, officers must leave the scene. Some officers have already been told to follow this new guidance, according to multiple sources.
Captain Kevin Grossman in the North precinct outlined a draft policy dated Sept. 29, obtained by the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. It has caused great confusion and its effects are reverberating across the department. In an Oct. 1 email, Grossman sent out the draft to his officers, according to a source. It’s unclear why the captain released the draft or why he wrote it in the first place. While the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has not adopted this as an official policy, one source explained officers were verbally instructed to follow it in at least one precinct. And it’s spreading unabated. Some commanders told their officers to follow this as policy, according to two sources. The Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) explained to the Jason Rantz Show that at least one officer was even accused of violating the “phantom policy” to the independent oversight agency, the Office of Police Accountability (OPA). SPOG says the misconception about the policy has yet to be corrected by the department, as of Friday, October 7.
The policy, as written, is sure to be controversial and comes as the SPD aims to mitigate the risks associated with vehicular pursuits. While state law prohibits pursuits, a policy that the SPD adopted before its passage, DUI suspects are treated differently. Under the law, police may pursue suspects in vehicles if there’s reasonable suspicion of DUI because of the threat they pose on the roads.
To prevent a pursuit in the first place, officers have used a pinning maneuver where a patrol vehicle inches toward the suspect’s vehicle, making it difficult for them to drive away. Officers have had run-ins with addicts clearly high on fentanyl, sitting in running vehicles, sometimes with their foot on the brake. This poses an obvious public safety threat.
