‘Stop sticks,’ like those used by Nevada trooper, pose great risk

The Nevada trooper struck during a conveyance pursuit connected Interstate 15 past period was attempting to puncture the tires of a stolen car utilizing a constabulary process that has near dozens of officers dormant nationwide implicit the past 2 decades.

Trooper Micah May, 46, was deploying “stop sticks” erstwhile helium was struck by the stolen car adjacent Charleston Boulevard connected July 27, the Nevada Highway Patrol has said. He was airlifted to University Medical Center, wherever the joined begetter of 2 and 13-year Highway Patrol seasoned died 2 days later.

The sticks, known to constabulary arsenic tyre deflation devices, oregon TDDs, impact an serviceman throwing a spiked mat into the way of a conveyance to deflate its tires. The endeavor has proved deadly for constabulary successful some agrarian counties and crowded cities crossed the United States clip and again, experts say. The nonprofit National Police Foundation said successful an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal connected Tuesday that determination person been 22 “law enforcement officers killed portion deploying halt sticks” from 2009 to 2021. The fig is based connected accusation compiled connected the Officer Down Memorial Page.

The adjacent morning, the fig roseate to 23 erstwhile Brooklyn, Illinois, constabulary serviceman Brian Pierce Jr., 24, was killed portion deploying halt sticks connected a span successful an effort to halt a car during a constabulary pursuit.

Hamilton Township, Ohio, constabulary Chief Scott Hughes told the Review-Journal he’s “not a proponent of” TDDs.

“There is nary harmless spot for you to basal to efficaciously deploy these,” helium said.

Hughes said the carnage caused by utilizing TDDs is extensive. He started tracking the deadly encounters aft 2 fatalities successful the portion of Ohio wherever helium works, with adjacent encounters helium personally had portion utilizing TDDs. Hughes’ statistic bespeak 37 officers person died deploying TDDs since 2001.

The constabulary main said determination is nary information tracking however often officers are injured utilizing TDDs but survive. He has written astir the hazards of TDDs for 1 of the nation’s largest instrumentality enforcement grooming companies, Calibre Press, including an nonfiction titled “How Many Flat Tires Are Worth an Officer’s Life?”

Hughes quoted a saying from instrumentality enforcement risk-management adept Gordon Graham that states, “If it is predictable, it is preventable.”

“If it is predictable that placing a constabulary serviceman retired connected the broadside of the roadworthy with a car coming astatine you astatine 100 mph, that could suffer power and deed you … past it is preventable,” Hughes said. “So wherefore are we putting our radical retired there?”

Judgment call

May was 1 of respective officers progressive successful the pursuit of Douglas Claiborne, 60, who stole a car and drove erratically down the interstate earlier striking May. During a briefing connected Aug. 2, Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Christopher Darcy said troopers tried to deploy the halt sticks six times “yet Claiborne was capable to maneuver astir them.” May was struck portion attempting to usage them a seventh time.

Darcy said during the briefing that utilizing halt sticks tin impact making judgement calls during a pursuit. Darcy noted helium was not speaking connected behalf of the Nevada Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Highway Patrol.

“Sometimes it is hard to predict, but we effort to place those areas wherever it would beryllium harmless to usage them and deflate the tires to effort and dilatory the pursuit down and bring it to a harmless conclusion,” Darcy said of TDDs. “That’s what the officers were doing and the troopers were doing erstwhile they were retired there.”

The Highway Patrol had different calamity involving TDDs 2 decades ago. Trooper Robert “Bobby” Kintzel was critically injured but survived erstwhile helium was tally implicit portion placing metallic spikes connected U.S. Highway 95 adjacent Flamingo Road successful April 2001. The motorist who deed him, Vornelius Phillips, was being sought successful a slaying and 2 carjackings. Authorities said astatine the clip that Phillips was driving 95 mph erstwhile helium struck Kintzel. Phillips is serving a beingness condemnation successful Nevada.

Highway Patrol argumentation connected constabulary pursuits states the determination connected whether to initiate a pursuit involves weighing the “degree of hazard that pursuits inherently origin owed to their unpredictability.” The papers besides lists factors to see successful allowing pursuits to continue, with galore of those factors focusing connected information of the nationalist and of officers, weather, conveyance speeds and whether the offender’s individuality is known.

The papers details the the Highway Patrol’s involution techniques to halt pursuits. One of the techniques disposable is TDDs, referred to by the Highway Patrol arsenic “road spikes.”

“Use of immoderate involution maneuver is not a crushed to proceed to prosecute erstwhile deemed unsafe,” the papers says. “A pursuit tin beryllium discontinued oregon re-evaluated astatine immoderate clip during the pursuit adjacent aft an involution maneuver has been used.”

The papers states involution tactics, including TDDs, should lone beryllium considered “if the timing and the concern permits” and if an serviceman is trained successful the technique. Use of an involution method specified arsenic TDDs requires support of a supervisor erstwhile available.

“Spike strips should beryllium deployed lone erstwhile it is reasonably evident that lone the pursued conveyance volition beryllium affected by their use,” the papers states. “Officers should cautiously see the limitations of specified devices arsenic good arsenic the imaginable hazard to officers, the nationalist and occupants of the pursued vehicle.”

Hughes said determination is simply a statement successful instrumentality enforcement astir whether to proceed to usage TDDs, and the statement varies by department. The Dallas Police Department, for example, has banned their use.

Hughes believes the devices should ne'er beryllium utilized connected interstates due to the fact that of the velocity of vehicles, postulation and a deficiency of cover. But it is besides known that TDDs are effectual tools to halt constabulary chases “when everything goes right,” Hughes said.

“When it is done close and cipher gets wounded … it’s great,” helium said. “It’s erstwhile they don’t enactment and erstwhile things don’t spell close that unfortunate, tragic situations similar conscionable what occurred successful Las Vegas happen.”

Contact Glenn Puit by email astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ connected Twitter.