Publicola: SPD emergency driving policy now instructs officers to consider road conditions, safety of other road users

| Posted

November 12, 2024

Screenshot of the policy text: Sworn Employees May Drive in an Emergency Response Only When the
Need Outweighs the Risk
The preservation of life is the highest priority. Criminal apprehension and the
preservation of property are secondary.
Sworn employees should consider the following when making the decision to engage
in an emergency response and will modulate their response accordingly:
- The nature of the emergency.
- The priority level of the call.
- The opportunity for others to perceive and react to the sworn employee, and other
emergency vehicles.
- Character of the location (i.e., freeway vs. side street).
- Weather and roadway conditions. — Excerpt of the updated SPD Emergency Vehicle Operations policy (full policy PDF)

Though you would hope it would have been common sense, the Seattle Police Department recently updated its emergency vehicle operations policies to specify considerations officers should make before choosing to drive above the speed limit, Andrew Engelson at Publicola reported. Officers should take into account the street’s “character,” such as whether it is a side street or a highway, and whether or not other road users will be able to react to their speeding police vehicle.

The changes are part of the continuing fall out from the killing of Jaahnavi Kandula in early 2023. Kandula was walking across Dexter Ave in a crosswalk when SPD officer Kevin Dave struck her while driving 74 miles per hour on the way to a reported overdose. Her death sparked outrage and demands for change.

Since the tragedy, SDOT has fully redesigned the fatal intersection as part of a larger Thomas Street redesign that includes a protected intersection at Dexter.

— Advertisement —

More details from Publicola:

In mid-October, the Seattle Police Department released new emergency vehicle operations (EVO) policies that instruct officers to “drive no faster than their skill and training allows and [what] is reasonably necessary to safely arrive at the scene.” The new rules were a belated response to community outrage after an SPD officer, Kevin Dave, struck and killed 23-year-old Jaahnavi Kandula in a South Lake Union crosswalk while driving 74 mph.

The new guidelines also advise officers to consider specific factors before deciding whether to break speed limits or traffic laws when responding to emergencies – including the priority level of the call, whether pedestrians can see and respond to an officer’s vehicle, the “character of the location (i.e. freeway vs. side street)” and weather and road conditions.

The new emergency driving policy now more closely aligns with SPD’s pursuit policy, which directs officers to pay attention to various factors before deciding whether to pursue a subject. SPD’s previous policy was extremely vague and gave little specific guidance to officers about when they can engage in emergency driving other than “where there is a legitimate concern for the preservation of life” and “only when the need outweighs the risk.”

[Read more at Publicola]