October 5, 2007

In My Opinion

Motorist Killed In High-Speed Police Chase

A Milpitas resident was killed in a collision with a car driven by a fleeing suspect in East Palo Alto on Sept. 27. Thus, we have one more tragic, senseless death caused by a high-speed police chase.

The innocent victim was 39-year-old Arsend Boutte. His life was taken away from him and his family and friends as he was driving alone in his vehicle eastbound on University Avenue in East Palo Alto. It was shortly after 9:40 p.m. The fleeing suspect, driving a Cadillac westbound, and being chased by police, crashed into Boutte’s vehicle, a Dodge. It ended his life in a flash.

When will we as citizens call upon our state legislators to insist they repeal the protective statutes that have created an ironclad immunity for local police departments in pursuit of a criminal for whatever reason? These police departments, at a minimum, should be required to consider and balance the guiding factors before starting a high-speed chase.

The National Association of Police Chiefs in Washington, D. C. has developed an excellent set of guidelines for police officers to consider before initiating a chase. The high mortality rate of innocent citizens in California bears witness that these carefully developed of guidelines have been put in the local police-vehicle’s glove compartments, UNREAD.

—Thom Harney