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Two Pinellas deputies suspended after violating pursuit policy

The deputies are off the job for a week after violating the policy for chasing suspects. One of the cases resulted in a crash with injuries.
The sheriff's office said a wrong-way driver struck another vehicle while a deputy was pursuing him.

Two Pinellas County deputies are off the job for a week after violating the policy for chasing suspects. One of the cases resulted in a crash with injuries.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri suspended them for 40 hours after an internal violation found they broke the policy.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, Deputy Jacek Szymanski chased a wrong-way driver earlier this year, even striking the car from behind during the pursuit.

That wrong-way driver ended up crashing into another car, which caused minor injuries for the victim.

The other officer, Lt. Dennis Dotson, pursued someone who stole an SUV from a Lealman fire station. He told other deputies to box in the SUV, despite the concern for hitting other cars. That method didn’t work and the suspect was later arrested walking into a nearby Arby’s.

“We don’t chase people for that. It’s not worth somebody losing their life over running a red light or because a vehicle was stolen,” Gualtieri said.

“Pursuits are dangerous. We don’t want people dying, we don’t want to make the situation worse.”

The agency has had controversial pursuits in the past, which is why the sheriff tightened the policy.

He says the only time someone is to pursue is if the person committed a forcible felony or is driving extremely dangerously.

Crime prevention specialist Dave Couvertier broke it down:

“The offender has no consideration for anybody’s safety, obviously. If he’s fleeing a police officer, they have no consideration for their safety or the safety of anyone else, let alone the safety of the police officer. That’s why ... the officers have to really look at what are the benefits of conducting this, pursuing this chase.”

Couvertier said if officers witness something drastic like a child abduction or mass shooting, then they should definitely pursue.

The sheriff gave other reasons when an officer should pursue: armed robbery, murder and rape.

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