FHP chase policy questioned after Ybor City crash
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The fatal police chase and crash in Ybor City on Saturday has some residents asking: Should the chase have happened at all?
Why it matters: The crash comes two years after the Florida Highway Patrol relaxed its policy on police chases — a move that, a recent analysis by TCPalm shows, resulted in an uptick of deaths in the months after its adoption.
State of play: The new chase policy broadened the circumstances under which a chase is allowed and gave officers greater discretion in conducting one, according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
- The Highway Patrol once barred chases unless the suspect had committed a felony or posed an immediate danger to the public, and troopers were required to obtain a supervisor's permission before initiating one.
- The new policy now allows a trooper to chase anyone who is "actively fleeing and eluding" them. It also allows them to run a red light, exceed the speed limit and drive on the wrong side of the road.
By the numbers: Since the policy took effect in December 2023, the number of FHP-related deaths during pursuits has tripled, according to TCPalm's analysis.
Zoom in: The Tampa Police Department says that its helicopter saw the suspect in the crash, Silas Sampson, speeding on I-275 and continued to monitor him, even as the Highway Patrol began to intervene.
- The chase began on Nebraska Avenue around 12:40am and ended near the Seventh Avenue and Nuccio Parkway intersection, seconds before Tampa Police say Sampson careened onto the sidewalk outside Bradley's.
Troopers stopped the chase "due to heavy pedestrian traffic further ahead on Seventh Avenue," according to the State Attorney's office.
- The Highway Patrol's chase policy recommends ending a chase if there is an "active presence of pedestrians." It also allows the trooper to hand the pursuit over to an aviation asset — like Tampa Police's helicopter.
What they're saying: Tom Gleason, a retired police officer and a safe police pursuit expert, told CL that the level of discretion granted to troopers under the new chase policy can cloud judgment.
- Gleason also said he believes several violations of sensible chase policy occurred during the incident on Saturday: troopers pursued a nonviolent suspect after a helicopter had already spotted the vehicle and continued the pursuit near a populated area.
The other side: "The driver was already operating recklessly and endangering lives before troopers engaged," Madison Kessler, communications director for the Highway Patrol, told the Tampa Bay Times.
- "Our troopers followed policy, disengaged prior to when the suspect entered a crowded area," she said. "This tragedy rests solely on the suspect's reckless actions, not law enforcement."
Zoom out: Records show Sampson is being held without bail at the Hillsborough County Jail. The public defender's office, which is representing him, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Sampson faces 14 felonies related to the crash.
The big picture: The Times identified those killed in Saturday's crash as Kristina Maria Richards, 25, of Ohio; Lisa Sherell Johnson, 41, of Winter Haven; Sherman Jones, 53, of Tampa; and Marlon Collins, 53, of Bartow.
- A GoFundMe campaign for Sherell Johnson can be found here.