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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7074
January Session, 2025
AN ACT CONCERNING THE UNIFORM STATE -WIDE POLICE
PURSUIT POLICY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 14-283a of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 2
passage): 3
(b) (1) The Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public 4
Protection, in conjunction with the Chief State's Attorney, the Police 5
Officer Standards and Training Council, the Connecticut Police Chiefs 6
Association and the Connecticut Coalition of Police and Correctional 7
Officers, shall adopt, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, a 8
uniform, state-wide policy for handling pursuits by police officers. Such 9
policy shall specify: (A) [The conditions under which] That a police 10
officer may engage in a pursuit [and discontinue a pursuit, (B)] when 11
the police officer believes that an occupant of a moving motor vehicle 12
committed a felony, as defined in section 53a-25, (B) the factors that may 13
be considered in a police officer's decision to engage in a pursuit, 14
including, but not limited to, the protection of the public, the known or 15
suspected offense, the apparent need for immediate apprehension, risks 16
to police officers, motorists and the public and alternative measures to 17
be employed by any such police officer in order to apprehend any 18
occupant of the fleeing motor vehicle or to impede the movement of 19
such motor vehicle, (C) the factors that may be considered in a police 20 Substitute Bill No. 7074
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officer's decision to discontinue a pursuit, including, but not limited to, 21
risks to the public and any pursuing police officer, the protection of the 22
public, the known or suspected offense, the apparent need for 23
immediate apprehension, vehicular and pedestrian traffic conditions, 24
such as speed, volume and safety, weather conditions and whether such 25
occupant is identified and may be apprehended at a later time or 26
whether such occupant is unknown, (D) the coordination and 27
responsibility, including control over the pursuit, of supervisory 28
personnel and the police officer engaged in such pursuit, [(D)] (E) in the 29
case of a pursuit that may proceed and continue into another 30
municipality, (i) the requirement to notify and the procedures to be used 31
to notify the police department in such other municipality or, if there is 32
no organized police department in such other municipality, the officers 33
responsible for law enforcement in such other municipality, that there 34
is a pursuit in progress, and (ii) the coordination and responsibility of 35
supervisory personnel in each such municipality and the police officer 36
engaged in such pursuit, [(E)] (F) the type and amount of training in 37
pursuits, that each police officer shall undergo, which may include 38
training in vehicle simulators, if vehicle simulator training is 39
determined to be necessary, and [(F)] (G) that a police officer 40
immediately notify supervisory personnel or the officer in charge after 41
the police officer begins a pursuit. The chief of police or Commissioner 42
of Emergency Services and Public Protection, as the case may be, shall 43
inform each officer within such chief's or said commissioner's 44
department and each officer responsible for law enforcement in a 45
municipality in which there is no such department of the existence of 46
the policy of pursuit to be employed by any such officer and shall take 47
whatever measures that are necessary to assure that each such officer 48
understands the pursuit policy established. 49
(2) Not later than January 1, [2021] 2027, and at least once during each 50
five-year period thereafter, the Commissioner of Emergency Services 51
and Public Protection, in conjunction with the Chief State's Attorney, the 52
Police Officer Standards and Training Council, the Connecticut Police 53
Chiefs Association and the Connecticut Coalition of Police and 54 Substitute Bill No. 7074
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Correctional Officers, shall adopt regulations in accordance with the 55
provisions of chapter 54, to update such policy adopted pursuant to 56
subdivision (1) of this subsection. 57
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 from passage 14-283a(b)
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(b)(1)(A), "a suspect" was changed to "an occupant of a
moving motor vehicle" for consistency with other provisions of the
general statutes; and in Section 1(b)(1)(C), "conditions, speeds" was
changed to "conditions, such as speed" for clarity and "the suspect" was
changed to "such occupant" for consistency with other provisions of the
section and the general statutes.
PS Joint Favorable Subst. -LCO