Police pursuits claimed 77 lives over a decade in Canada, study finds

Seventy-seven people died in police pursuits over a 10-year period in Canada, according to a study by an independent public watchdog.

The study, released through federal access-to-information law, analyzed 871 pursuits involving the RCMP and other police forces nationwide. It found that officers were injured in seven per cent of the pursuits the researchers examined.

Drivers and passengers in fleeing vehicles were injured in 23 per cent of the pursuits, while innocent parties were injured in 10 per cent of cases.

"The decision to initiate, join, or disengage a pursuit is a calculated and time-sensitive one that front-line police officers make …" the study says. "An officer's discretion could potentially have consequences to their own and public safety." 

Dated September 2021, the previously unpublished study by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP covers the 10-year period ending in 2019 and is based on media reports.

Pursuits that failed to make the news are not included.

The "RCMP recognizes that police pursuits can pose a danger to public and police safety," said Robin Percival, spokesperson for RCMP headquarters in Ottawa.

In 2021, the RCMP revised its Emergency Vehicle Operations policy to stipulate that Mounties can initiate or continue a vehicle pursuit only if they reasonably believe the suspect has committed (or is about to commit) a serious act of violence — and only if failing to immediately arrest the suspect would pose a greater risk to public safety than a pursuit.

The old policy said an RCMP officer could initiate a pursuit when a suspect driver refused to stop for a peace officer and attempted to evade apprehension. The policy did not require officers to pursue drivers simply for attempting to evade arrest and said pursuits should be reconsidered in cases where the driver could be identified and apprehended at another time.

The new policy also requires all frontline RCMP members to successfully complete an updated online course on emergency vehicle operations. In the past, only supervisors were required to take the course. Each module of the course contains scenario-based learning to provide RCMP officers with real-life examples they may encounter during the course of their duties, Percival said.

The study says that aerial pursuits — helicopter, drone, or fixed-wing aircraft — are a safer and more effective option to ground pursuits. They're also costlier.

"One of the primary advantages of the use of aerial support is that it allows police to safely and effectively monitor suspects' movements from a distance as they assist tactical units on the ground, thereby reducing direct interaction between fleeing suspects, pursuing units and the public," says the study.

Of the 114 aerial pursuits analyzed in the study, only three ended without someone being taken into custody. Police engaged in aerial pursuits typically use infrared cameras to track the heat signatures of suspects who flee their vehicles and hide.

Alberta accounted for 38 per cent of those 114 aerial pursuits, while 23 per cent occurred in B.C. and 22 per cent took place in Ontario.