5 - Emergency Response & Pursuits 

5a) Emergency Response

Emergency Driving:

• You may disregard certain traffic laws. When doing so, you must always exercise extreme caution to reduce the risk to civilians, other government employees responding emergently, and yourself.

• You should keep their emergency lights on, unless there is a valid reason not to

• You should generally keep your siren on while driving through areas where traffic or pedestrians could interfere with the response

  • This is especially true during responses in narrow areas, around corners, through intersections and areas with sidewalks

• You must not break any other laws (such as 9.8 Reckless Endangerment), that could risk injury or death to others; unless they are facing a direct threat to their own life.

• When responding to an emergency, you may break traffic laws only if it’s done safely. You must:

  • Slow down at red lights to check for oncoming vehicles

  • Ensure intersections are clear when passing stop or yield signs

  • Maintain a speed that allows enough time to react and brake if needed.

• Driving up off-ramps and down on-ramps against the natural flow of traffic should be avoided where possible; however, it is allowed in necessary emergency situations. While doing so, officers should exercise extreme caution and utilize both lights and sirens, accompanied by a reduced speed where applicable. This specific procedure applies only to going up off-ramps and down on-ramps, and not for any other scenarios.

• Driving on the wrong way of a roundabout is permitted during an emergency or pursuit if the correct lane of travel is obstructed, or if following the natural flow of traffic would result in a significant delay or loss of visual on a suspect. While doing so, officers must exercise extreme caution, utilize both lights and sirens, and maintain a reduced speed to ensure the safety of all road users. The officer remains fully responsible for any damage or injury caused by this maneuver.

5b) Pursuing a fleeing vehicle

When pursuing a vehicle, you must:

• Call for backup over the police radio, transmitting information on:

  • Vehicle description (e.g. car model, make, color, and body kits)

  • Current location and direction (From  →  To)

  • Suspected crimes

• Keep their lights and sirens on at all times to warn the public about the chase.

Use of Force during a pursuit must be done safely, with minimal risk to the public. When using force, the following should be considered:

• Location. Using force in a crowded area with pedestrians is generally not allowed.

• When using force to stop a vehicle, use the option that represents the minimal amount of force required to stop said vehicle.

Types of Force include:

Spike Strips & Road Blocks:

Spike Strips and Road Blocks are effective tools, and are often used together. However, when placing a roadblock and/or using spike strips, there is a serious risk that the fleeing driver will lose control of their vehicle. Therefore, the following must be considered:

• When using spike strips, you may not place them down before you have visual confirmation of the fleeing vehicle.

  • After the vehicle has passed the spike strips, it must be picked up. The only exception is immediate life-threatening situations.

Ramming, Pitting or Boxing In:

Coming into contact with a fleeing vehicle can be very dangerous. When performing one of these maneuvers, the following must be considered:

• The best area to perform these maneuvers are the highway with the median, to ensure the car will not hit any oncoming traffic.

• If the safety of the public cannot be ensured, no form of forceful contact is acceptable.

Shooting the fleeing vehicle:

Using firearms should be the absolute last resort when nothing else has worked, and the driver is posing a severe threat to the public or officer's life. When shooting at a vehicle, the following must be considered:

• Firing on the vehicle, you should generally aim for:

  • The tyres

  • The engine