Lakewood urges area police to avoid dangerous chases

Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, August 24, 2007

Lakewood officials said today they think Denver police notified them as fast as they could about a pursuit that led to a crash with an innocent motorist.

But Lakewood City Manager Mike Rock said his city wants to drive home to all outside police agencies that his town opposes hazardous pursuits except in the most extreme circumstances.

"We want to encourage all jurisdictions to not pursue into Lakewood or to at least closely coordinate with us because we believe high-speed pursuits are just incredibly dangerous for everyone involved," Rock said.

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.

An undercover Denver officer's black Dodge Ram pickup truck skidded through a stop sign Thursday, hitting and flipping over a silver sedan driven by Edith Mack, who is a language tutor at Molholm Elementary School. The officer's car had no lights and sirens, and Denver's pursuit policy says such cars should not chase suspects.

Mack suffered a fractured pelvis and was in fair condition today at St. Anthony Central Hospital. The officer was not injured. Manuel Santistevan, the robbery suspect who was being chased, is still at large.

Lakewood and Denver officials had a "very productive" meeting this morning to discuss the pursuit, said Lakewood Mayor Pro Tem Bob Murphy.

He was reassured that communication protocols between the neighboring police agencies were followed during the frenetic chase, which lasted just 90 seconds and covered about two miles.

Denver police notified the Lakewood dispatcher of the pursuit just five seconds before the Denver detective slammed into Mack's car two blocks from Molholm Elementary School, where she tutors in English as a second language.

"The important thing is that the coordination (between the neighboring police agencies) needs to be there and it was there," Murphy said.

Denver has launched an internal investigation into the pursuit. Lakewood police are conducting the accident investigation and are expected to send a report to the Jefferson County district attorney next week, Murphy said.

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

The meet at 9 a.m. today at Molholm school included Murphy, top officials from both cities' police departments, along with officials from the Denver mayor's office and Jeffco schools.

"It was very productive meeting, and we spent a lot of time talking about the victim, expressing concern and talking about followup for her," Murphy stressed.

"Mayor Hickenlooper has expressed personal regrets and we had a good discussion."

Murphy said it was important to recognize that police were chasing "a very bad guy. We have to remember the fact that it's a very fine line that a police officer is walking in the context of that chase."

He said Jeffco school officials plan to issue a letter in English and Spanish to Lakewood residents, informing them about what happened and pursuit policy precautions.

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 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.

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.