"Crash & Burn"

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY — SHOWCASE Certificate of merit

Houston Chronicle
Contributors: Andrea Ball, Caroline Ghisolfi, Elizabeth Conley, Carol Motsinger
11/13/2023

In 2023, high-speed pursuits in Houston suddenly seemed to be happening everywhere, all the time. Two, three, sometimes five times a day, police officers tore down city streets as fast as 100 mph, chasing suspects until they crashed or someone died.

What was going on? Had it always been this bad?

To find out, reporters at the Houston Chronicle analyzed more than 5,000 post-pursuit forms filled out by officers, filed dozens of public records requests and spoke to family members of victims who were accidentally killed or injured.

The investigation revealed that high-speed chases in the city had surged 47 percent over a five-year period. One in three pursuits ended in a crash. Twenty-seven people had died – including at least 10 bystanders – and another 740 were injured.

The Houston Police Department launched more chases than Los Angeles and Chicago. It pursued more vehicles than police in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio combined.

The culprit behind the high numbers: a weak policy that let Houston police pursue anyone for almost anything.

About two weeks after the Chronicle published those findings, HPD announced sweeping policy reforms that finally put guardrails on how and when police officers could pursue citizens. No more chasing drivers who fled after running a stop sign. No more chasing people solely for theft or other Class C misdemeanors.

Within one month, chases dropped 40 percent. Had those reforms been made earlier, hundreds of crashes could have been avoided, the Chronicle’s analysis showed.

Before the chase changes, Houston’s pursuit policy was one of the loosest among 47 nearby Texas cities.

Now, it is the 17th most restrictive.

Reporters also informed readers about the highly effective playbook Houston officials use to avoid paying bystanders, who are burdened with thousands of dollars in medical and legal bills caused by police chases. City lawyers blame the victims or “acts of God.” They call deaths and injuries “pre-existing conditions.” They invoke government immunity.

Because of the Chronicle’s reporting, at least one Houston city council member is now calling for the creation of a fund to pay bystanders harmed by high-speed chases.

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Submitted by Robert Eckhart.