The 22-year-old Middletown man led officers through Franklin, Springboro, Waynesville and Turtlecreek Twp. at speeds at more than 100 mph, police said.
Dulle had just tossed tire deflating devices across U.S. 42 at Utica Road just before 2 a.m. Tuesday and was waiting beside the road for Isreal to pass. That’s when Isreal allegedly went off the side of the road at an estimated speed of 100 mph and hit Dulle, killing him instantly, police said.
Isreal, who allegedly had a gun with during the chase, was indicted Friday by a Warren County grand jury on nine felony charges, including murder and involuntary manslaughter.
Isreal faces 37 1/2 years to life in prison, if convicted, said Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.
Mason Police Chief Ron Ferrell, former head of the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy would not comment on the tragic accident, but said two essential components are required for the proper employment of pursuits.
“You have to have parameters that say if these things exist you really should not be pursuing...,” he said. “Training is very important and also having a well crafted and clear policy in place. And then you train to that policy. Pursuits are right up there with the use of force in terms of how important they are to police department.”
Ferrell said policies generally include supervisory control, traffic conditions and volume, location and the offense the person being pursued is suspected of doing. Ferrell said across the state, law enforcement agencies vary as to what directives they follow. Some don’t pursue at all, he said.
“The decision to pursue is a second by second decision by the officer,” Springboro Police Chief Jeff Kruithoff said. “It’s been a heavily debated issue in my 39 years in law enforcement, but people have an expectation of us stopping the bad guy.”
In last week’s chase, a Springboro officer tossed out a tire deflation device on Ohio 73 to try to stop the pursuit. Springboro police were also involved in the pursuit, but were told by their supervisor to terminate if they reached Waynesville and the suspect was not in custody. Franklin police continued with the chase.
Kruithoff said it’s “bad policy to have a kneejerk reaction” to stop using the tire puncturing devices based on what happened last week.
Other agencies, such as the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Franklin police have very similar policies concerning pursuits and the use of tire deflation devices.
Lt. Mike Sanders, commander of the Ohio Highway Patrol’s Lebanon post, said troopers take in the totality of circumstances before beginning a pursuit.
“The longer a pursuit goes, the more riskier it becomes,” he said. “You are actively engaged and energized during a pursuit. It’s a dynamic situation with decisions being made in fractions of a second.”
Sanders said he thinks it’s important to review policies on a regular basis and troopers are trained how to use the tire deflation devices when they are at the patrol’s academy as well as periodic refresher training.
Over his career, he said he’s been in more pursuits than he’s wanted to be in. “I’ve seen them end in a good way or a bad way,” Sanders said. “But everyone expects police to do their jobs.”
Sanders said some agencies have a “no pursuit” policy, which he believes hamstrings police.
Twenty-three officers have been killed nationally while setting out or removing tire deflation devices, according to the National Officer Memorial Fund.
Two other officers in southwest Ohio have been recently injured during pursuits. Lockland Police Officer Brandon Gehring was severely injured when a West Chester police cruiser, in pursuit of a man who allegedly robbed a Walgreens, hit him as he was laying Stop Sticks on Interstate 75 in 2009.
In 2007, Cincinnati Police Sgt. Bryce Bezdek was hit by a pick up truck fleeing near the Western Hills viaduct.
Adi Dhondy, operations director for Magnum Spike, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of tire deflation devices, said it’s more dangerous to not use the devices because of what a reckless driver might do who is not pursued.
“It’s much safer to use a spike device, especially if you’re properly trained and certified to use it,” he said.
There are legal ramifications to police pursuits. The issue of innocent bystanders injured during police pursuits became so prevalent in the past, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in. The high court handed down a decision in 1998 that said police can’t be sued for injuries to others unless their actions are so egregious that they “shock the conscience.”
John Phillips’ sister died nine years ago when she got in the middle of a police chase. The Florida man and his family created PursuitWatch.org a website advocating restraint and offering research and other information about high speed police chases.
His family helped rewrite the protocols for police pursuits in Orlando and Orange County, Fla., so chases aren’t initiated unless the suspect is accused of a violent crime, he said.
“Their duty isn’t necessarily to arrest the bad guy, that’s not why they are hired,” Phillips said. “They are hired to protect us. To protect and serve is the motto we always hear. It’s the ability to understand that just because I don’t arrest this guy right now, doesn’t mean I’m not protecting and serving. In fact, I might actually be doing that by not chasing a bad guy.”
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