RALEIGH -- The N.C. State Highway Patrol has changed when and how its troopers will pursue criminal suspects.
Chief among the changes: A local law enforcement agency's emergency communications center must now formally request assistance from the Highway Patrol's 911 center before a trooper will join in the pursuit of a suspect.
Sgt. Jeff Gordon, a Highway Patrol spokesman, said Wednesday that the changes have nothing to do with a car crash involving a trooper in Guilford County last month that killed two people, including an 11-year-old girl.
"We have a post-chase board that meets on a monthly basis," Gordon said Wednesday. "We review all extraordinary patrol vehicle operations, from Murphy to Manteo. We began looking at the policy way before the trooper-involved collision that took place about a month ago."
A report released by the Highway Patrol after the accident on May 23 indicated that trooper J.D. Goodnight's patrol car was trying to catch up with a Buick Skylark.
Gordon was careful Wednesday to not describe Goodnight's actions as a chase or a pursuit. Instead, he said Goodnight was involved in a "traffic enforcement response" after clocking the vehicle traveling 85 mph in a 55-mph speed zone on U.S. 85 Business in Guilford County.
Goodnight's patrol car collided with a Honda driven by Sandra Allmond, 55, of Thomasville as she was turning left on a green yield light. Allmond was killed instantly. A passenger in her car, Taylor Strange, 11, later died of her injuries, Gordon said.
Col. Randy Glover, the Highway Patrol's commanding officer, requested that the N.C. Attorney General's Office conduct an independent investigation of the collision to ensure that all policies and procedures were followed.
The Attorney General's Office hired an independent company to reconstruct the accident. The Highway Patrol is also reconstructing the accident. Both reports are pending.
Goodnight, who was also injured, has since returned to work, Gordon said.
The primary policy change adopted June 16 concerns vehicle pursuits initiated by other law enforcement agencies, such as local police or sheriff's offices. Now, state troopers will not join in those pursuits unless formally asked through the Highway Patrol's communications centers, Gordon said.
Gordon said the new policy will enable troopers to know why they are involved in a pursuit and whom they are trying to apprehend.
"If the correct information is presented to the trooper, then there is lack of discrepancy between the two agencies," Gordon said. "The ultimate goal is to protect the public and the trooper."
The other changes to the pursuit policy have to do with language and wording to eliminate the possibility of miscommunication, Gordon said.
