Sahuarita (Arizona) Police Chief John Noland defended his officers’ decision to engage in a high-speed pursuit last Sunday because two suspected shoplifters used “force or fear” during the incident.
The policy requires officers to consider 17 factors before initiating or continuing chases, he said in an interview Thursday.
Officers responded to Walmart around 3:45 PM December 8 on a shoplifting call. They were told two shoplifting suspects, a man and a woman, had run over security personnel with shopping carts when they tried to detain them. The victims also provided officers with a description of the suspects’ vehicle. Sahuarita Police Lieutenant Sam Almodova said the suspects initially acted as though they were going to pull over when officers spotted them but then sped away west on Duval Mine Road… Green Valley News