The Fort Worth Police Department shared its pursuit policy after two pedestrians were seriously injured during a chase last month in the West 7th Entertainment District.
Fort Worth Police said they were pursuing a driver suspected of being intoxicated when he cut in front of oncoming traffic, jumped a curb, hit a pole, and continued driving on a rim and shredded tire. Police said when the driver tried to speed away he hit a car and two adult pedestrians at the intersection at West 7th Street and University Drive.
After the crash, police said both an adult man and an adult woman were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Their current conditions are not known.
Citing a lawsuit into the department's pursuit policy, officials would not say if the pursuing officers followed protocol. However, Fort Worth Sgt. Jason Spencer told NBC 5 the pursuit was approved by a supervisor.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
Due to interest in the pursuit and crash, the department later said it was "providing significant portions of its pursuit policy to the public."
"The available policy serves the public’s interest in accountability and allows them to educate themselves on the department’s policies while simultaneously protecting the Fort Worth Police officers and our residents by not providing specific tactics used to apprehend offenders," the department said in a statement.
The information shared by the department was included among its general orders and outlines some of the basic guidelines of when a pursuit can be initiated and who is to be notified, though key pursuit policies have not been disclosed.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“I stand by the decision to not inform criminals of our strategies. That said, I wholeheartedly believe in being transparent to our community who will now be more educated and aware of our policy and how it applies in various situations,” said Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. “Having a clear policy is important and procedures must be followed, however, let’s be clear that the culpability and responsibility lies with the individual who chose to evade.”
The driver in the crash, identified as Andrew Guerra, remains in custody with charges of intoxication assault with a vehicle, evading arrest, and unlawful restraint for allegedly refusing to let his passenger out of his truck. As of Feb. 15, Guerra remains in the Tarrant County Jail held on bonds totaling $95,000. It's not clear if he's obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf.
