Pursuit policies become crucial

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, December 28, 2003

EVERETT — Michael Waterman had no way of knowing.

He was driving home from his sales job at Sears at the Everett Mall. He didn’t know the car racing toward him was stolen or that the teenage driver was wanted for trying to outrun police once before. He was unaware of the young Washington State Patrol trooper in hot pursuit.

Waterman, 29, didn’t make it home that night.

He died when Thomas Bradley Schuerenberg, 19, ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side of Waterman’s car, according to court documents.

It is this tragic ending and others like it that have police departments in Snohomish County and around the nation re-evaluating how and when they chase after drivers who fail to stop for officers.

"The time of having a dozen deputies chase after the bad guy is gone," Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart said. "The question that must be asked is, ‘Why are we chasing these guys.’"

In Washington, lawmakers this fall ordered police to have pursuit policies implemented by June 2004. Those policies must set guidelines to determine when the need to catch a crook outweighs the risk of a police chase.

"It raises the threshold, whereas before it was pretty wide open. Pursuits have come around to a more systematic approach," said Jim LaMunyon, deputy director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Most agencies have policies in place, LaMunyon said. It is likely, however, new standards will limit pursuits to more serious offenses.

"The trend around the U.S. is to have more restrictive policies," said Geoffrey Alpert, professor of criminal justice and director of research for the College of Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina.

The Seattle Police Department tightened its policy in August, banning most high-speed pursuits.

Alpert has advised hundreds of police departments around the nation in drafting pursuit policies. His advice: limit chases only to violent felonies.

"I’d no more take an officer’s gun than take away the ability to pursue," he said. "But if someone steals a car or TV, why risk my family’s life for it? Is catching that person more important than the health and welfare of the public?"

It is the very question Everett police have been asking themselves. The department has found an answer and is just days from changing its policy and limiting when officers can chase suspects.

The department will restrict pursuits to incidents in which an officer’s life or the life of another person is in danger, Police Chief Jim Scharf said. Officers will not be allowed to chase suspects for minor offenses.

"We’re going to the side of safety," Scharf said. "More and more pursuits are being viewed as a use of force. It’s no longer ‘how dare this guy run from me.’ There are other things that are more important."

The new policy will be in place Jan. 1. The department has already begun training officers.

National statistics show that 40 percent of police chases end in crashes. Someone is injured in about 20 percent of pursuits and 1 percent result in a death, Alpert said.

"These citizens don’t volunteer to be rolling roadblocks for police," said Donald Van Blaricom, who, while police chief in Bellevue, wrote one of the first restrictive pursuit policies in the country.

Van Blaricom said police should not chase nonviolent offenders. He said the most serious crimes are solved through investigation. The need to chase after someone is rare.

"If it’s Ted Bundy, you pursue him," he said. "If you’re chasing and speeding through the streets for a nonviolent offender, it doesn’t justify the risk."

According to the sheriff’s policy, "deputies are required to terminate any pursuit whenever the risk of continuing the operation outweighs the danger to the public if the suspect is not immediately apprehended."

The state patrol and Everett police have similar policies.

Van Blaricom said it is not enough for a department to have a policy. Officers need to be trained and held accountable for their actions.

"If they’re not held accountable, there is no policy," he said.

But Bart said it is difficult to write a policy to cover every situation.

"As sheriff, I’m not going to say you can’t pursue anything anymore. We can’t protect the public that way," he said.

"If it’s a traffic infraction, we’ll call it off. If it’s a stolen car, we will pursue if the conditions are right. I’m not going to second guess the deputies."

Like most departments, the sheriff’s office requires a supervisor to oversee a pursuit. The supervisor must assess conditions, such as traffic, weather and the reason for the chase.

Bart said his department is trying to reduce the number of officer-involved chases.

A deputy was in a pursuit last summer that ended when the driver of a stolen car crashed into a brick sign on Merrill Creek Parkway. The 27-year-old driver, Jonathan D. Evans, died several days after the June 23 crash. Two 19-year-old passengers, a man and a woman, also were seriously injured.

The sheriff’s office is reviewing its policy to determine if it fits with the new guidelines established by the state, Bart said.

State patrol Sgt. and state Rep. John Lovick of Mill Creek said it should be up to each police agency to adopt a pursuit policy. Lovick said the patrol will pursue a person for any violation but a supervisor will determine if the risk outweighs the good.

"We have a responsibility to minimize the risk to the public by trying to stop people who are putting others at risk by their driving," Lovick said, using the example of someone who is driving under the influence of alcohol. "I think you at least have to make an attempt."

"As a supervisor, I’ve terminated a lot of pursuits," he said. "It’s a hard call to make."

A state patrol sergeant who was monitoring the Dec. 15 pursuit called off the chase when the trooper reported there had been a collision at the intersection of Highway 526 and SE Everett Mall Way. The sergeant was unaware of the gravity of the crash, said Capt. Robert Lenz, commander of state patrol District 7 in Marysville.

The trooper reported that Schuerenberg failed to properly stop at a stoplight, Lenz said.

According to court documents, the trooper told the emergency dispatcher he was following a car westbound on Airport Road, and the driver failed to stop when the trooper tried to pull him over. The car ran through red lights at Beverly Park Road and another at Kasch Park Road, court papers say.

The next time the trooper radioed the dispatch center, he was approaching SE Everett Mall Way and saw the collision.

Schuerenberg and his 18-year-old passenger were ordered out of the car and taken to Providence Everett Medical Center. The passenger had extensive facial injuries. Schuerenberg had some injuries to his hands and scrapes to his shoulder, documents say.

Troopers found what they called a "suspicious" powder inside the stolen car.

At the hospital, Schuerenberg told his father that "he was afraid to hit the brakes because he thought the car would slide" out of control, documents say. "He said he thought (Waterman) would see him coming and see the police lights and stop."

Schuerenberg was arrested and held for investigation of second-degree murder, driving a stolen car and attempting to flee police. It was the second time he had been arrested for eluding police. He never showed up for the earlier arraignment in November.

The state patrol, along with Everett police, is investigating the crash. Lenz will review the pursuit to determine if the trooper, who had been on the job less than six months, and the sergeant followed policy.

The answer will not change the tragedy.

Waterman and his friend and fellow Sears salesman Rob Brown left work that night with plans to see the new "Lord of the Rings" movie.

"When we parted ways, he said, ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’ The phone call I got wasn’t the one I expected. It was from somebody telling me he’d died," Brown said. "I just couldn’t believe it. It’s like a bad dream."

Sears salesmen described Waterman as a master of customer service, the kind of guy "if you were thinking you might want a new fridge, you walked out of the store with a new fridge," said friend Dan Jones, 29, of Redmond, who worked with Waterman for several years.

Waterman won numerous sales awards and was well-known for his mastery of making deals.

"He carried that same passion to every part of his life," said Jones, who works at a Sears in Redmond and credits Waterman for his sales skills.

Waterman was also devoted to his girlfriend, friends said, adored their two dachshund dogs and followed the San Francisco 49ers with the devotion of a true football fan.

Jones got Waterman’s name and the date he died tattooed on his right forearm last week to honor his friend.

"Every time I close a deal and shake somebody’s hand, they’re going to see Mike’s name and date of death," Jones said. "Besides my family, Mike was the single most-important person in my life. That was taken away from me before I was ready to give him up."

Born five days apart, Jones and Waterman celebrated their birthdays together every year. On their 27th birthdays, they went to Las Vegas, got dressed up, rented a Prowler and drove around town.

"We were going to turn 30 this year, and now I’ll be turning 30 by myself," Jones said. "What makes me mad is that there’s no reason for it … He was just driving home, and two kids who think they’re tough running from the cops killed my best friend."

Reporter Katherine Schiffner contributed to this report.

Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.