PALISADES INTERSTATE PARK, N.J.—A driver who fled pursuing Palisades Interstate Parkway Police officers crashed and fled the scene July 26, after officers terminated the pursuit “within seconds of its initiation due to the high rate of speed” and the suspect’s erratic driving, the police agency said in a statement.
“The officers lost sight of the vehicle but continued to travel southbound at a safe speed,” the PIPD statement said. “A short while later they observed a vehicle on the right shoulder of the Linwood Ramp in the Fort Lee Section that was similar to the car that had fled. The car had been crashed and abandoned. At this time the incident is still under investigation.”
Officers had attempted to stop the car for speeding in the Englewood Cliffs section of the parkway, the PIPD said. The driver ignored emergency lights and sirens, refusing to pull over and accelerating, the agency said.
State Has High-Speed Pursuit Policy
The terminated pursuit came about one year after the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office published a critical report on the PIPD that said the agency broke state pursuit policy guidelines in 36 of 41 high-speed chases since January 2014.
According to New Jersey Attorney General’s police vehicular pursuit policy, a police officer may only pursue when the officer believes the violator has committed an offense of the first or second degree, or when the officer believes that the violator poses an immediate threat to the safety of the public or other officers.
Even then, officers must consider the likelihood of successful apprehension, and the degree of risk created by the pursuit, which includes traffic and weather conditions, plus other factors, according to the policy.
Officers should terminate pursuits if they believe the danger to the pursuing officers or the public outweighs the necessity for immediate apprehension, plus other factors, the guidelines state.
New Leadership at the PIPD
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s July 2018 report also criticized the PIPD for using the internet to lure small-scale narcotics dealers to PIPD-patrolled property to arrest them, including one case where a suspect fled and fell off the Palisades cliffs to his death.
New Jersey State Police veteran Steven Shallop was appointed chief of the PIPD on June 26, telling Northern Valley Press he would help the agency reestablish positive relationships with the public, community leaders and nearby police departments.
Shallop told the paper he believed there was previously “a lack of leadership and direction” at the parkway police department under a prior chief “but the department itself is made up of professional, dedicated employees,” he said.
Former PIPD Police Chief Michael Coppola resigned after the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office charged him with allegedly buying cocaine on the internet while he was serving a 90-day suspension following the BCPO report.
