Apple Valley Police Department relaxes strict vehicle-pursuit policy

Apple Valley police officers can now pursue cars involved in many felonies, ranging from burglary to sexual assault, after loosening what was one of the most restrictive vehicle-pursuit policies in the Twin Cities area.

The south metro department made the shift after seeing a “sharp increase” in the number of vehicles fleeing officers, according to a March 14 city memo.

“In 2020, we had placed some very restrictive guidelines in our pursuit policy for a variety of reasons,” Police Chief Nick Francis said. “Essentially, if it was a deadly force incident or someone needed to be captured immediately ... that was the only authorization our department had for engaging in a pursuit.”

That policy, which was written after George Floyd’s murder, was adopted at a time when the department saw an increase in people fleeing police. The department wanted to reconsider pursuits, which were seen as risky or dangerous to public safety, Francis said.

But several years later, those restrictions reduced the liability of pursuits but “did not appear to be positively impacting overall public safety,” he said, citing increased numbers of car thefts in particular.

According to Apple Valley police, the number of cases in which a driver fled officers in the suburb has more than doubled since 2019 and reached a high of 37 in 2021.

The newly revised policy was also influenced by incidents in which a suspect fled and later committed a violent crime, the chief said. In one instance, Francis said, a vehicle that fled police after it was stolen in Apple Valley was connected to a shooting in Minneapolis later that night.

Francis said that under the 2020 policy, residents sometimes called police for help only to have officers watch a suspect drive away.

“The public is saying, ‘Hey, what gives? We’re calling you for help as the victim of a crime. We’re expecting that the police are going to help us,’” he said.

Francis said the new policy still includes rules officers must follow. For instance, police can’t chase a vehicle in a school zone or into oncoming traffic, he said.

Pursuing suspects of certain crimes, such as theft or felony forgery, requires a supervisor’s permission. And officers must consider where the pursuit may lead, given that the city has one of Minnesota’s busiest intersections at County Road 42 and Cedar Avenue, a situation that increases the potential for dangerous crashes.

But officers can initiate a pursuit on their own when the fleeing vehicle is tied to certain crimes, including homicide, aggravated assault, sexual assault and aggravated robbery.

Apple Valley’s policy is still more restrictive than one approved in January by the state Board of Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST), which sets more than a dozen model policies on topics ranging from drone use to racial profiling.

Mike Monsrud, the board’s assistant executive director, said the revised policy offers more details about officers’ responsibilities in a pursuit. He said it includes many reminders to balance risks with the seriousness of the alleged offense and need for immediate arrest.

The new POST policy’s approach was influenced by high-profile police pursuits several years ago that ended in deadly crashes, Monsrud said.

Minnesota law enforcement agencies must adopt a policy that’s identical or “substantially similar” to the POST policy, though the POST policy doesn’t restrict a department’s ability to pursue vehicles — those are agency-level decisions, Monsrud said.

“Some agencies have no restrictions and their officers can engage in a pursuit of any vehicle that flees from them,” he said. “[Others] are very restrictive on when they allow the officers to engage in a pursuit.”

Minneapolis police last year crafted a new policy that allows officers to pursue suspects involved in certain firearm-related offenses, including pointing or discharging a weapon at someone. The revision was made in response to increased gun violence.

Francis described Apple Valley’s new policy as similar to one in Lakeville.

Lakeville Police Chief Brad Paulson said the city’s policy was written in early 2021. He said the previous version made pursuits “totally discretionary by the officer.”

“We have gone to a probably middle-of-the-road approach,” Paulson said, adding that the current pursuit policy relies on common sense and checks and balances.

Lakeville allows a chase if a violent crime is involved or if a police watch commander authorizes the pursuit. An officer can decide to end their chase at any time, Paulson said.

Officers “definitely see more cars take off than we pursue,” he said.

“We always have to weigh the public risk factor, and we certainly don’t want anybody to get hurt in these things,” Paulson said.