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HPD chase policy questioned again after deadly pursuit

Deadly chase raises questions

By Laura Whitley

(4/24/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Could something have been done to prevent yesterday's deadly police chase crash? Some people in our community say something needs to be done now to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Some people have been criticizing HPD's chase policy for over a year. After yesterday's deadly crash, the controversy over how and when police chase suspects will likely only get louder.

An innocent Houston mother of two was dead after the disastrous police chase. More than a year ago, a then-Houston police officer warned the city about this very kind of worst case scenario.

Officer Tom Nixon lost his job for speaking out against HPD's chase policy. Today he's running for city council. still criticizing the department he was a member of for a decade, he calls the death of Rikki Sanchez preventable.

"It's unfortunate that it's now going to take some serious event like this for the department administration to consider what its option's are," he told us.

HPD will investigate yesterday's chase to see if officers followed policy. A spokesperson with the department says no one could have predicted this deadly outcome. Nixon disagrees. Nixon wants officers to be trained in more aggressive maneuvers that involve allowing officers to ram a fleeing car.

Police union President Hans Marticiuc says police need to be able to chase and catch felons. He would support changes that allow officers to shoot out tires with special bullets.

"You can buy guns that shoot ceramic bullets," he said.

But some changes could mean new problems for the department. For example, allowing officers to shoot out tires in certain situation brings new liability. However, critics of the current policy believe the need for change outweighs those potential problems.

"Once again, it's gonna take the death of another innocent person to change a policy," said Nixon.

Some critics believe the solution to reducing police chases lies with state lawmakers. Critics want to see tougher laws for crooks who run from police.