MassCops - Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network, A Mass Police Web Portal

Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network

Massachusetts Police News, Information and Discussions on MassCops

Pages: 1

Main Page POLICE PURSUITS [2 bills]
(Click here to view the original thread on the MassCops Message Board)

Posted by: Gil

HOUSE, No. 2125

By Mr. Hill of Ipswich, petition of Bradford Hill, Bruce E. Tarr and Paul K. Frost relative to the penalty for persons operating motor vehicles involved in police pursuits. Public Safety.

AN ACT RELATIVE TO STRENGTHENING THE LAWS AGAINST MOTOR VEHICLE PURSUITS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 90 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 25 the following section:—
Section 25A. Any person who while operating a motor vehicle refuses to stop when signaled to by a police officer, and who then drives in an unsafe or dangerous manner while refusing to stop, shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for up to two and one-half years, or by imprisonment in the State Prison for not more than five years. Upon a conviction of this offense, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles shall suspend the license or right to operate of the individual for five years, and no hearing for a hardship license shall be granted.
Each police department shall have on file an active policy in regards to the procedures to be followed when initiating a motor vehicle pursuit, conduct during the pursuit, and when to terminate said pursuit. The policy shall be filed with the Secretary of Public Safety, and updated by the department every two years, subject to approval by the Secretary. The Secretary of Public Safety shall have the authority to promulgate such regulations as is necessary to set forth the minimum requirements for said policies, and for the timetables and filing requirements of the departments. In no instance shall any act, omission, or failure to comply with the provisions of this paragraph be a defense in a criminal proceeding
for a violation of the first paragraph of this section.

HOUSE, No. 3484

By Mr. Howland of Freetown, petition of Mark A. Howland for legislation to impose imprisonment for persons eluding a policed vehicle. Criminal Justice.

AN ACT RELATIVE TO POLICE PURSUITS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 89 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:—
Section 12. Any person who flees or attempts to elude a policed vehicle, while operating a motor vehicle at speeds in excess of the speed limit or who disregards traffic signals shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years.

Posted by: j809

Gil are these already in effect. It's very confusing because the language looks like it's there.

Posted by: Gil

I don't believe so...

Posted by: Wolfman

I wish they were.

On the first glance, I kind of like the second one better. Less strings attached. Keeps it simple.

Posted by: Killjoy

I can only hope they enact one of these....

Posted by: DC813

I like the felony penalty, if the media hypes it as much as they hype all the chases that go on, maybe people will think twice about an all out chase.

Especially now that the media is really playing up the fact that the police are often blamed for the chase and that Boston PD policy about shooting at moving vehicles. I think that a lot of people think running is a decent option, as they think the PD will terminate the pursuit or not fire on them these days.

Posted by: mikemac64

Funny thing is, in accrodance with the Interstate Compact, to continue a pursuit over state lines (into RI where I am) you need a felony. In MA, this is a half assed misdemeanor. In RI, failure to stop (ie pursuit) is a felony.

Posted by: RPD931

I don't really like the second one...

Quote:

Chapter 89 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:—
Section 12. Any person who flees or attempts to elude a policed vehicle, while operating a motor vehicle at speeds in excess of the speed limit or who disregards traffic signals shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years.

It seems like if the operator MUST speed in order to violate it... There are plenty of asses that would just drive normally and ignore you until they pull in their drive way...

...and it doesn't include a suspension/revokation of their Driver's License like the first one does. But the first one also says:

Quote:

Any person who while operating a motor vehicle refuses to stop when signaled to by a police officer, and who then drives in an unsafe or dangerous manner while refusing to stop

...

But then again, we have Ch.90, S.25 D... I'd like the language of these amendments to have a little "less strings attached", but I like the punishments!! Especially the 5 year - no hardship hearing - license Suspension.

Posted by: Irish Wampanoag

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemac64

Funny thing is, in accrodance with the Interstate Compact, to continue a pursuit over state lines (into RI where I am) you need a felony. In MA, this is a half assed misdemeanor. In RI, failure to stop (ie pursuit) is a felony.

Thats why we call the our beloved state Assachusetts. Assachusetts means everything in our state is done half ass, the politicians are assholes who in turn legislate backward ass laws.

Posted by: Deuce

That's because the politicians pushing the laws are dirty....

Posted by: Gil

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikemac64

How come they (departments / co's / etc) are always on intercity asking the reason for the pursuit. The usual response is "motor vehicle" followed by the station stating to break it off. What is the penalty in RI for failure to stop anyway?

Posted by: EOD1

This reminds me of a very half-assed one sided news show i saw condeming police pursuits. There was a story about officers who were pursuing 2-14 year ols kids who stole a car the kids were flying through the center town blew through a red light and hit another car. There was a infant in the car who lost a leg. The parents were in the interviewed stated that "if the cops never chased them then my son would still have his leg". I got so angry watching this report that i had to change the station. it was so one sided! I felt about the same when i visted that copssuck.net website!

Posted by: PBC FL Cop

Fleeing and eluding is a felony here in Florida if the suspect drives at a high rate of speed and you have your lights and siren activated, its about time Mass makes it a felony. Its sad that cops get killed in pursuits, yet its still only a misdemeanor.

Posted by: USMCTrooper

For several years I would play 2 video tapes of news clips while standing tall during the Eastern States Exposition Fair. It used to be a great PR gig for the MSP and people would come talk to you from all over the state, new england, country and world. One video tape was a news report of an hour long pursuit between MA & CT. It started in Hartford for a $25 HOV lane violation. When it was over, the driver had coke in his system, the truck was stolen but yet unknown as such and he had in his possession SS cards, ID's, credit cards from various homes he had burglarized the night before. As the reporter said in closing the story "something the Police didnt even know when they started chasing him in the first place..." I used it to answer every philadelphia lawyer who would say, "you shouldnt chase people for just minor traffic offenses"

The second tape was filmed live by NECN of my classmates funeral, Tpr Mark Charbonnier. After people watching it get over the moving bagpipes, sea of blue et al, they ask how he died. When they hear he was killed by a "paroled murderer" many look stunned and a few have even said "maybe if there was a death penalty"................

yeah maybe.................

Posted by: 209

Okay, Ive been thinking about this for a couple weeks now and found this thread. I know the last post was a year and a half ago but.... I was in a pursuit a few weeks back and it really pissed me off. The idiot ran from us through 2 towns nearly running over a kid on a bike all for what he said was a suspended license and a stolen inspection sticker. (there were much more charges though). At any rate if we could get a law like this with stiff penalties and have the media put it out there it would be great. As we all know most dumbass's run just because their lic. is susp.. If the penalties were more that $100 for failing to stop for police maybe they would think twice. Oh, and yeah pretty stupid that the fine is lower for running from the police than running a stop sign ($150). What ever im so pissed at the inadequate punishment for this.

ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops

About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.

The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.

The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.

The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.

The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.

MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 49 50 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108