2005 Legislation
“Kristie’s Law” was a California state bill introduced by Senator Sam Aanestad in 2004 and 2005. The bill’s statewide policy came under fire by law enforcement unions and did not pass.
The Issue
California continues to grant blanket immunity to law enforcement agencies even when officers fail to follow the pursuit policy their agency has actually adopted. Read about this unique—and deadly—state law; there is no accountability, click here.
Press Conference: My Daughter, My Joy
I find myself in a place where I never dreamed possible: that I would out live one of my two precious children. People liken what happened to my family as a “nightmare.” How I wish it was a nightmare because then I would wake up. The nightmare would be over and I would hear my Kristie talking and laughing. I would give her a hug, and she would give me one right back. My Kristie loved hugs. Read More.
Victims’ Voices Silenced Again
Candy Priano’s final testimony to the Senate Public Safety Committee, April 26, 2005.
California State Senator Sam Aanestad, author of Kristie’s Law
“I introduced Kristie’s Law for one simple reason: to save lives. An innocent child in my district was killed in a high-speed police pursuit, and the police weren’t even after some violent, dangerous criminal. They were chasing a teenage girl for driving her mother’s car without permission. There’s something very wrong when the police response to a crime poses a greater threat to public safety than the crime itself.” For details about Chico’s Deadly Chase, click here.
CNN reports
How police chases really work
(Story is no longer available online at CNN)
From the interview, Capt. Travis Yates of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, police department, said, A high-speed chase is one of the few times when police officers will knowingly put the lives of innocent civilians at risk. Because of the high risk, he said, many municipalities now ban chases except in cases where the suspect is clearly dangerous and cannot be apprehended any other way.
San Francisco Chronicle’s Open Forum
Police-pursuit bill requires real teeth
California’s Senate Bill 719, at best, is an after-the-fact piece of legislation: after a child is killed, after a young father is facially disfigured for life from a fiery crash, after a mother and three teens are killed in a pursuit through a school zone at 3 p.m., or after a baby’s arm is severed. These are real-life tragedies of police chases gone very badly awry in California. And yes, the families of these victims blame the people who flee for these tragedies. But just as true, Californians deserve a more preventive measure to ensure that our pursuit policies and practices will be followed in order to save lives.
It’s about Saving Lives
Kristie’s Law: A Preventative Measure
“There’s something very wrong when the police response to a crime poses a greater threat to public safety than the crime itself,” Senator Sam Aanestad said when identifying two key provisions to his legislation regarding police pursuits in California:
2833. (a) A peace officer may initiate a motor vehicle pursuit when he or she has a reasonable suspicion that a fleeing suspect has committed or has attempted to commit a violent felony, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code.
(b) A peace officer shall not initiate a motor vehicle pursuit when he or she has a reasonable suspicion that a fleeing suspect has committed other felonies, not described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, misdemeanors, or traffic or civil infractions.
Don Thompson, Associated Press
“One person a week dies in a pursuit in California,” said Senator Sam Aanestad—by far the highest number and per capita rate in the nation. In one recent week, five people in California died in chases, the senator said.
Kristie’s Law is a preventative measure
Analysis of Kristie's Law 2005, SB 718
It is important to note that SB 718 does not eliminate motor vehicle pursuits in California; however, what SB 718 will do is further protect the public from any inherent dangers associated with pursuits. Not all crimes are worthy of a pursuit-prioritization, as well as recognition that innocent lives (whether it be another innocent driver, innocent passenger, or innocent pedestrian) are at risk.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signs
It is true the new law “requires law-enforcement agencies to adopt a pursuit policy, but this reform is mostly symbolic,” Priano wrote in an e-mail to the Enterprise-Record Tuesday. “Police departments must already adopt a pursuit policy to receive blanket immunity from civil liability. This law retains California’s unique injustice of immunity even when the policy is not followed.”
Cops Forget the Innocent in Police Chases
Editorial: Without statewide standards, and with no legal accountability for a police officer’s decision to chase suspects, we can expect another 50 to 60 Californians to die this year as the result of high-speed chases on our streets and highways. It appears the two state police groups opposing Kristie’s Law are more interested in protecting their members from litigation than in public safety.
Aanestad Bravely Strikes Out on His Own
Second Opinion: In this article, editor David Little quoted Senator Sam Aanestad. “It’s not fun having your police chiefs and sheriffs calling you names and saying they’re going to find someone to run against you. But we’ve had too many deaths… and we need to do something about it.”