Police pursuit that led to crash under review today

Alan Gathright and Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, August 24, 2007

Denver and Lakewood officials are meeting today to discuss a Denver police pursuit that ended with a crash in a Lakewood neighborhood that hospitalized a local educator.

The Denver undercover officer's Wednesday pursuit of a robbery suspect apparently violated department policy by chasing a car in an unmarked vehicle without lights and a siren.

The meeting will include representatives from the Denver mayor's office and police and along with Lakewood police, Mayor Pro Tem Bob Murphy and a Jefferson County public schools official.

Like Denver, Lakewood has tight restriction on police pursuits, allowing officers to chase only when a fleeing suspect clearly poses a great risk to public safety.

"The city of Lakewood has a very strict policy on when our agents initiate a pursuit," Lakewood police spokesman Steve L. Davis said today.

"I stop short of saying we never pursue, because there can be some very exigent circumstances where a pursuit will take place. But they are very rare here," he added.

The officer's black Dodge Ram pickup skidded through a stop sign, hitting and flipping over a silver sedan driven by Edith Mack, just two blocks from Lakewood's Molholm Elementary School where she works as a language tutor.

Several Lakewood residents have complained that the 3:41 p.m. crash happened in a residential area not long after school let out and children would be outside.

Mack suffered a fractured pelvis and was listed in fair condition today at St. Anthony Central Hospital. The officer was not injured.

The 90-second pursuit Wednesday covered a little more than two miles. If the pursuit took the most direct route, the officer was averaging more than 60 mph, according to an analysis of the police dispatcher recording.

The officer was following Manuel Santistevan, 26, a fugitive believed to be armed and dangerous. Santistevan's so-called "Hooded Safe Bandits" gang is suspected of committing than 20 armed robberies of fast-food restaurants, dollar stores and coffee shops in the Denver area.

After the crash, the suspect and a woman in the car abandoned the white Cadillac STS and escaped, despite an intensive ground and air search.

"These undercover officers were pursuing, doing everything they could to keep this extremely dangerous suspect in sight while at the same time trying to get marked units in to assist with the stop," Detective John White said Thursday.

Denver's vehicle pursuit policy, one of the strictest in the nation, states: "Vehicles not equipped with operable lights AND siren shall not become involved in vehicle pursuits."

"That particular undercover vehicle was not equipped with emergency lights and siren," White said.

Police officials would not say whether the pickup's lack of safety equipment violated policy, saying it would be the subject of a review conducted of all pursuits.

Officials also declined to comment about the undercover detective's speed during the chase.