Thursday, June 16, 2005
Review of Orange County Sheriff’s Office 2004 Vehicle Apprehension/Pursuit forms indicates widespread disregard of policy
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office Vehicle Pursuit Policy requires that deputies generate a form whenever a suspect fails to pull over when ordered. The policy also requires that the forms be reviewed by the chain of command to the level of Division Commander of the Uniform Patrol Division. (Chiefs Frank Fabrizio and Matt Weathersby) PursuitWatch has conducted an analysis of these reports for 2004.
There were:
243 Vehicle Apprehension Forms
20 Vehicle Pursuit Forms
Signatures:
44 were rubber stamped "Chief Frank Fabrizio"
60 were rubber stamped "Chief Matt Weathersby"
22 were signed by individuals other than the Division Commanders
34 were not signed
2 signatures were unintelligible
162-Total
The remaining 101 were signed by the Division Commanders as required by policy.
Aviation was requested 42 times and responded 34 times. Of the 34 times aviation responded there is only 1 instance of video being available.
Of the 20 acknowledged Vehicle Pursuits, 10 (50%) were for Aggravated Assault on a LEO with a vehicle.
There were 34 Vehicle Apprehension incidents where duration, beginning and ending locations, or narratives suggested that a pursuit may have taken place and consequently should have prompted further investigation and were simply judged to be within policy without comment or further investigation.
There were 43 Vehicle Apprehension incidents where reports do not indicate deputies ceased to follow, as required by policy.
There were no indications of discipline for deputies being outside of policy other than a handful of incidents where deputies were "counseled." Other than these few incidents all others were adjudged to be within policy.
There is a consistent pattern of continued efforts to apprehend vehicles after apprehensions were called off as being against policy. Area checks, alerting other units, following without the use of emergency equipment and use of tire deflation devices after termination of apprehension were often cited in narratives.
This review indicates that there is no effective oversight of the Uniform Patrol Division of OCSO and that disregard, misunderstanding, and misapplication of the agency’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy is pervasive within the division.
Read more!
There were:
243 Vehicle Apprehension Forms
20 Vehicle Pursuit Forms
Signatures:
44 were rubber stamped "Chief Frank Fabrizio"
60 were rubber stamped "Chief Matt Weathersby"
22 were signed by individuals other than the Division Commanders
34 were not signed
2 signatures were unintelligible
162-Total
The remaining 101 were signed by the Division Commanders as required by policy.
Aviation was requested 42 times and responded 34 times. Of the 34 times aviation responded there is only 1 instance of video being available.
Of the 20 acknowledged Vehicle Pursuits, 10 (50%) were for Aggravated Assault on a LEO with a vehicle.
There were 34 Vehicle Apprehension incidents where duration, beginning and ending locations, or narratives suggested that a pursuit may have taken place and consequently should have prompted further investigation and were simply judged to be within policy without comment or further investigation.
There were 43 Vehicle Apprehension incidents where reports do not indicate deputies ceased to follow, as required by policy.
There were no indications of discipline for deputies being outside of policy other than a handful of incidents where deputies were "counseled." Other than these few incidents all others were adjudged to be within policy.
There is a consistent pattern of continued efforts to apprehend vehicles after apprehensions were called off as being against policy. Area checks, alerting other units, following without the use of emergency equipment and use of tire deflation devices after termination of apprehension were often cited in narratives.
This review indicates that there is no effective oversight of the Uniform Patrol Division of OCSO and that disregard, misunderstanding, and misapplication of the agency’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy is pervasive within the division.
Read more!
Jim Phillips
8:37 AM
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Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Are there racial issues involved with the broadcast media coverage of the events of May 15, 2005?
PursuitWatch.org Press Release
Orlando, Florida
June 1, 2005
The Central Florida broadcast media have shown only a passing interest in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office "following" incident that occurred on Sunday morning, May 15th, and resulted in death of two prominent members of the local Haitian community. Frantz and Carole Leander died when a suspect being "followed" by OSCO ran a red light and impacted their automobile.
The outrageous and documented particulars of the facts of the incident:
1. The deputies were aware from the outset of the identity and address of the suspect.
2. The deputies were aware from the outset that the suspect had "stolen" his mother’s vehicle.
3. 23 of the 40 deputies on duty in Orange County participated in the "following" in some capacity.
4. Deputies deployed stop sticks no less that 8 times.
5. The "following" lasted for 49+ minutes.
6. The Sheriff’s Office had deployed a chase helicopter that was observing the travel of the suspect.
7. The helicopter failed to obtain video of the incident as required by policy/practice.
8. The OCSO maintained that there was no use of lights or sirens and the Supplementary Reports of many deputies supported that assertion.
9. The Florida Highway Patrol Charging Affidavit of the suspect, the OPD recording of the OCSO request for assistance and the radio tapes of the incident all show overwhelming evidence of the use of sirens and/or lights.
10. The Orlando Police Department refused to participate in the "following".
11. Exoneration of the OCSO participants within a few days of the incident by the Chiefs of the Uniform Patrol Division.
Despite these facts as well a the statements of several experts that the incident was, according to OCSO policy, a pursuit and that the pursuit violated policy and that proper application of that policy would have not have resulted in the death of the Leanders, the story has not been extensively covered by the local broadcast media. Hardly a day has passed in the last two weeks since the incident, when additional significant information has not come to the surface, largely due to the efforts of the Orlando Sentinel and PursuitWatch.
Given the documented horrible bungling of this incident by the Sheriff’s Office, as well as the aftermath, and the almost daily unraveling of the events of May 15th it is hard to not wonder if the coverage would have been a lot different if the innocent victims were prominent members of a more politically connected minority or the white community.
Read more!
Orlando, Florida
June 1, 2005
The Central Florida broadcast media have shown only a passing interest in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office "following" incident that occurred on Sunday morning, May 15th, and resulted in death of two prominent members of the local Haitian community. Frantz and Carole Leander died when a suspect being "followed" by OSCO ran a red light and impacted their automobile.
The outrageous and documented particulars of the facts of the incident:
1. The deputies were aware from the outset of the identity and address of the suspect.
2. The deputies were aware from the outset that the suspect had "stolen" his mother’s vehicle.
3. 23 of the 40 deputies on duty in Orange County participated in the "following" in some capacity.
4. Deputies deployed stop sticks no less that 8 times.
5. The "following" lasted for 49+ minutes.
6. The Sheriff’s Office had deployed a chase helicopter that was observing the travel of the suspect.
7. The helicopter failed to obtain video of the incident as required by policy/practice.
8. The OCSO maintained that there was no use of lights or sirens and the Supplementary Reports of many deputies supported that assertion.
9. The Florida Highway Patrol Charging Affidavit of the suspect, the OPD recording of the OCSO request for assistance and the radio tapes of the incident all show overwhelming evidence of the use of sirens and/or lights.
10. The Orlando Police Department refused to participate in the "following".
11. Exoneration of the OCSO participants within a few days of the incident by the Chiefs of the Uniform Patrol Division.
Despite these facts as well a the statements of several experts that the incident was, according to OCSO policy, a pursuit and that the pursuit violated policy and that proper application of that policy would have not have resulted in the death of the Leanders, the story has not been extensively covered by the local broadcast media. Hardly a day has passed in the last two weeks since the incident, when additional significant information has not come to the surface, largely due to the efforts of the Orlando Sentinel and PursuitWatch.
Given the documented horrible bungling of this incident by the Sheriff’s Office, as well as the aftermath, and the almost daily unraveling of the events of May 15th it is hard to not wonder if the coverage would have been a lot different if the innocent victims were prominent members of a more politically connected minority or the white community.
Read more!
Jim Phillips
2:19 PM
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Monday, May 30, 2005
PursuitWatch renews call for investigative panel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM:PursuitWatch.org
Orlando, Florida May 30, 2005
Recent events have demonstrated a crisis of management in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division. Public statements, as well as statements made to PursuitWatch by Chief Frank Fabrizio, co-commander of that division, have demonstrated a fundamental lack of "understanding" of the agency’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
Chief Fabrizio is guilty of a quick "rubber stamping" of his deputies actions in the May 15th "following" incident that resulted in the death of innocent bystanders, Frantz and Carole Leander. Studying the Supplementary Reports from many of the deputies involved, there emerges a consistent statement in many of them, "at no time did I have my lights and sirens activated." It is hard to understand this when that statement is inconsistent with the statement of the OCSO dispatcher to the Orlando Police Department when requesting assistance, as well as the Florida Highway Patrol Charging Affidavit of the suspect and the radio tapes of the incident.
The Supplementary Report of Lt. Dennis Leonard gives the careful reader some insight into how this might happen, "At this point I, along with Sgt. Lynch met with the Deputies involved to work on all the required documentation needed."
It appears that many OCSO deputies echo the faulty, and ultimately fatal, interpretation of the policy articulated by Chief Fabrizio-if they do not activate lights and siren and drive at the posted speed they are not in pursuit and are just following the suspect and, consequently, are in compliance with policy. This, as well as the, "Don’t ask. Don’t tell." attitude demonstrated in the DS Kilgore/Ivey Lane incident, and other incidents that have been brought to the attention of PursuitWatch, brings into question the fitness of the present leadership of the Uniform Patrol Division and indicates a top-down systemic disregard of OCSO’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
PursuitWatch has received an email stating that the OCSO Professional Standards Division is in the process of an investigation of the events of May 15th. The narrow scope of this investigation is not acceptable. Additionally, the chain of command review of the events of May 15th and the subsequent underwriting of those events have demonstrated a breakdown of the internal review process and brings into question the ability of the OCSO to objectively review their own actions.
PursuitWatch renews its call for an independent panel, made up equally of citizens and Orange County Sheriff personnel to examine the following:
1. The May 15th incident and the apparent failure of the review process.
2. The overall compliance of the OCSO to the revised Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
3. Deficiencies in the OCSO Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
In an email to Sheriff Kevin Beary, Jim Phillips, President of PursuitWatch, has volunteered to serve on, or chair, an investigative panel. By endorsing an outside panel Sheriff Beary can demonstrate his continuing commitment to the integrity and credibility of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jim Phillips
PursuitWatch.org, Inc. A Florida Non-Profit Corporation
http://www.pursuitwatch.org/
(407)629-4975
ABOUT PURSUITWATCH.ORG: PursuitWatch is a national organization of citizens and police officers that promotes smarter and safer police pursuit policy. PursuitWatch was founded by Jim Phillips as a result of the loss of his 20 year-old daughter, Sarah, an innocent bystander killed in a police pursuit. The website www.pursuitwatch.org has become the most comprehensive resource concerning Police Pursuits on the Internet and attracts inquiries from reporters all over the United States as well as many international inquiries.
Read more!
FROM:PursuitWatch.org
Orlando, Florida May 30, 2005
Recent events have demonstrated a crisis of management in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Uniform Patrol Division. Public statements, as well as statements made to PursuitWatch by Chief Frank Fabrizio, co-commander of that division, have demonstrated a fundamental lack of "understanding" of the agency’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
Chief Fabrizio is guilty of a quick "rubber stamping" of his deputies actions in the May 15th "following" incident that resulted in the death of innocent bystanders, Frantz and Carole Leander. Studying the Supplementary Reports from many of the deputies involved, there emerges a consistent statement in many of them, "at no time did I have my lights and sirens activated." It is hard to understand this when that statement is inconsistent with the statement of the OCSO dispatcher to the Orlando Police Department when requesting assistance, as well as the Florida Highway Patrol Charging Affidavit of the suspect and the radio tapes of the incident.
The Supplementary Report of Lt. Dennis Leonard gives the careful reader some insight into how this might happen, "At this point I, along with Sgt. Lynch met with the Deputies involved to work on all the required documentation needed."
It appears that many OCSO deputies echo the faulty, and ultimately fatal, interpretation of the policy articulated by Chief Fabrizio-if they do not activate lights and siren and drive at the posted speed they are not in pursuit and are just following the suspect and, consequently, are in compliance with policy. This, as well as the, "Don’t ask. Don’t tell." attitude demonstrated in the DS Kilgore/Ivey Lane incident, and other incidents that have been brought to the attention of PursuitWatch, brings into question the fitness of the present leadership of the Uniform Patrol Division and indicates a top-down systemic disregard of OCSO’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
PursuitWatch has received an email stating that the OCSO Professional Standards Division is in the process of an investigation of the events of May 15th. The narrow scope of this investigation is not acceptable. Additionally, the chain of command review of the events of May 15th and the subsequent underwriting of those events have demonstrated a breakdown of the internal review process and brings into question the ability of the OCSO to objectively review their own actions.
PursuitWatch renews its call for an independent panel, made up equally of citizens and Orange County Sheriff personnel to examine the following:
1. The May 15th incident and the apparent failure of the review process.
2. The overall compliance of the OCSO to the revised Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
3. Deficiencies in the OCSO Vehicle Pursuit Policy.
In an email to Sheriff Kevin Beary, Jim Phillips, President of PursuitWatch, has volunteered to serve on, or chair, an investigative panel. By endorsing an outside panel Sheriff Beary can demonstrate his continuing commitment to the integrity and credibility of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jim Phillips
PursuitWatch.org, Inc. A Florida Non-Profit Corporation
http://www.pursuitwatch.org/
(407)629-4975
ABOUT PURSUITWATCH.ORG: PursuitWatch is a national organization of citizens and police officers that promotes smarter and safer police pursuit policy. PursuitWatch was founded by Jim Phillips as a result of the loss of his 20 year-old daughter, Sarah, an innocent bystander killed in a police pursuit. The website www.pursuitwatch.org has become the most comprehensive resource concerning Police Pursuits on the Internet and attracts inquiries from reporters all over the United States as well as many international inquiries.
Read more!
Jim Phillips
11:46 AM
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Thursday, May 26, 2005
It is time for Orange County Sheriff Beary to take a stand
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM:
Pursuitwatch.org
Orlando, Florida 5/25/05
It is time for Orange County Sheriff Beary to take a stand
From the 5/25/05 Orlando Sentinel:
"We will reserve judgment until all reports are in and the ongoing investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol is concluded," Beary wrote in an e-mail. "Any speculation or opinion by anyone at this time would be premature."
The FHP report that Sheriff Beary is referring to is the Traffic Homicide Report. It is neither the purpose nor will the report address whether the Orange County Sheriff’s Office followed policy. The sole purpose of the report is to provide the basis for the criminal prosecution of Jonathan Kornexl.
To wait several months for a report that will not address the question of the OCSO’s compliance to their pursuit policy would be ridiculous and the suggestion to do so is nothing more that a smoke screen.
It is well past time for Sheriff Beary to address this situation. He must investigate or appoint a panel to investigate. An open and thorough investigation into the actions of his department and those who adjudged those actions to be within policy is the only way for the OCSO to maintain any credibility on this issue.
PursuitWatch calls for a citizen/law enforcement panel to investigate this incident as well as the overall compliance of the OCSO with the revised pursuit policy. The panel should also be charged to clarify the pursuit policy where needed. The Sheriff should agree to abide by the findings of the panel.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jim Phillips
www.pursuitwatch.org
Read more!
FROM:
Pursuitwatch.org
Orlando, Florida 5/25/05
It is time for Orange County Sheriff Beary to take a stand
From the 5/25/05 Orlando Sentinel:
"We will reserve judgment until all reports are in and the ongoing investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol is concluded," Beary wrote in an e-mail. "Any speculation or opinion by anyone at this time would be premature."
The FHP report that Sheriff Beary is referring to is the Traffic Homicide Report. It is neither the purpose nor will the report address whether the Orange County Sheriff’s Office followed policy. The sole purpose of the report is to provide the basis for the criminal prosecution of Jonathan Kornexl.
To wait several months for a report that will not address the question of the OCSO’s compliance to their pursuit policy would be ridiculous and the suggestion to do so is nothing more that a smoke screen.
It is well past time for Sheriff Beary to address this situation. He must investigate or appoint a panel to investigate. An open and thorough investigation into the actions of his department and those who adjudged those actions to be within policy is the only way for the OCSO to maintain any credibility on this issue.
PursuitWatch calls for a citizen/law enforcement panel to investigate this incident as well as the overall compliance of the OCSO with the revised pursuit policy. The panel should also be charged to clarify the pursuit policy where needed. The Sheriff should agree to abide by the findings of the panel.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Jim Phillips
www.pursuitwatch.org
Read more!
Jim Phillips
4:47 AM
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Monday, May 23, 2005
PursuitWatch.org Press Release 5/22/05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Orange County Sheriff’s Office disregard of pursuit policy results in the death of 2 innocent bystanders
Orlando, Florida 5/22/05
Sometime before 8AM on Sunday, May 15th Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Kilgore ran the license plate of a suspicious vehicle he encountered and learned that the pickup was stolen by the owner’s son and that the occupant of the pickup was most certainly Jonathan Lee Kornexl. He followed the truck to a convenience store on the corner of W. Kaley and OBT and ordered the suspect to exit the pickup under gunpoint. The pickup sped away heading east on Kaley. When DS Kilgore and another deputy followed, the incident became, by policy definition, a vehicle pursuit regardless of the speed the deputies were traveling. Pursuit for a stolen vehicle is specifically forbidden by OCSO policy. The deputies further disobeyed policy by not activating their lights and siren while in pursuit. For approximately the next hour the OCSO played a cat and mouse game with the suspect involving no less than 13 deputies and an OCSO helicopter. Stop sticks were deployed at least 8 times which the suspect avoided by driving through the front and even back yards of residences, on the shoulder of the road and by turning away. The suspect was observed to ignore stop signs numerous times. This incident involves many violations of the OCSO’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy and shows a reckless "ratcheting" up of the pressure on the fleeing suspect which ultimately resulted in the tragic death of two innocent bystanders, Frantz Leander and his sister Carole Leander. This is precisely the type of incident that the revised OCSO pursuit policy was designed to prevent.
The incident has been reviewed and adjudged within policy by Chief Frank Frabrizio, Chief of the Patrol Division. This determination, given the overwhelming evidence of disregard of OCSO policy, and statements of Chief Frabrizio to the press and myself, brings into question whether the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is committed to the revised pursuit policy. PursuitWatch anxiously awaits the final determination of Sheriff Kevin Beary. It remains to be seen whether Sheriff Beary will reaffirm his commitment to the revised policy and take appropriate action to demonstrate that commitment or whether he will rubber stamp the self-serving judgements of his chain of command.
Read more!
Orange County Sheriff’s Office disregard of pursuit policy results in the death of 2 innocent bystanders
Orlando, Florida 5/22/05
Sometime before 8AM on Sunday, May 15th Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Russell Kilgore ran the license plate of a suspicious vehicle he encountered and learned that the pickup was stolen by the owner’s son and that the occupant of the pickup was most certainly Jonathan Lee Kornexl. He followed the truck to a convenience store on the corner of W. Kaley and OBT and ordered the suspect to exit the pickup under gunpoint. The pickup sped away heading east on Kaley. When DS Kilgore and another deputy followed, the incident became, by policy definition, a vehicle pursuit regardless of the speed the deputies were traveling. Pursuit for a stolen vehicle is specifically forbidden by OCSO policy. The deputies further disobeyed policy by not activating their lights and siren while in pursuit. For approximately the next hour the OCSO played a cat and mouse game with the suspect involving no less than 13 deputies and an OCSO helicopter. Stop sticks were deployed at least 8 times which the suspect avoided by driving through the front and even back yards of residences, on the shoulder of the road and by turning away. The suspect was observed to ignore stop signs numerous times. This incident involves many violations of the OCSO’s Vehicle Pursuit Policy and shows a reckless "ratcheting" up of the pressure on the fleeing suspect which ultimately resulted in the tragic death of two innocent bystanders, Frantz Leander and his sister Carole Leander. This is precisely the type of incident that the revised OCSO pursuit policy was designed to prevent.
The incident has been reviewed and adjudged within policy by Chief Frank Frabrizio, Chief of the Patrol Division. This determination, given the overwhelming evidence of disregard of OCSO policy, and statements of Chief Frabrizio to the press and myself, brings into question whether the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is committed to the revised pursuit policy. PursuitWatch anxiously awaits the final determination of Sheriff Kevin Beary. It remains to be seen whether Sheriff Beary will reaffirm his commitment to the revised policy and take appropriate action to demonstrate that commitment or whether he will rubber stamp the self-serving judgements of his chain of command.
Read more!
Jim Phillips
10:30 AM
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Friday, May 06, 2005
How did the pursuits end?
I was reading a newspaper article the other day in the Ukiah Daily Journal in California and the reporter quoted some statistics from the California Highway Patrol for the year 2004:
......Number of pursuits-6,913
......Number of apprehensions-4,470
......Number of suspects who stopped on their own-1,577
......Number of accidents-1,848
The numbers are puzzling to me. Over the years, in all jurisdictions, irregardless of policy the following have held approximately true:
..... 40% of pursuits end in crashes
......20% of pursuits end in injury
.......1% of pursuits end in death
If the CHP numbers are correct two things bother me (1) the characterization of crashes as accidents and (2) that only only about 27% of pursuits end in crashes when the CHP is involved. I began to analyze the numbers to see if I was missing anything:
......Number of apprehensions .......................4,470
......Number stopped on their own............... - 1,577
......Number of crashes................................ - 1,848
......Number ended for unknown reasons .......1,075
It seems to me that there are only 2 ways that a pursuit can end-by crash or by the suspect giving up. In California fully 15% of pursuits engaged in by CHP have mystery endings.
It seems curious that if we add the number of crashes(1,848) and the number of mystery endings(1,075) we get 2,923 which is 42% of the total number of pursuits.
Velly, Velly interesting!
Read more!
......Number of pursuits-6,913
......Number of apprehensions-4,470
......Number of suspects who stopped on their own-1,577
......Number of accidents-1,848
The numbers are puzzling to me. Over the years, in all jurisdictions, irregardless of policy the following have held approximately true:
..... 40% of pursuits end in crashes
......20% of pursuits end in injury
.......1% of pursuits end in death
If the CHP numbers are correct two things bother me (1) the characterization of crashes as accidents and (2) that only only about 27% of pursuits end in crashes when the CHP is involved. I began to analyze the numbers to see if I was missing anything:
......Number of apprehensions .......................4,470
......Number stopped on their own............... - 1,577
......Number of crashes................................ - 1,848
......Number ended for unknown reasons .......1,075
It seems to me that there are only 2 ways that a pursuit can end-by crash or by the suspect giving up. In California fully 15% of pursuits engaged in by CHP have mystery endings.
It seems curious that if we add the number of crashes(1,848) and the number of mystery endings(1,075) we get 2,923 which is 42% of the total number of pursuits.
Velly, Velly interesting!
Read more!
Jim Phillips
1:41 PM
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Blanket Immunity issue dropped from California's Kristie's Law
The California Legislature has given California Law Enforcement agencies Blanket Immunity from liability if they adopt a pursuit policy that conforms to a few rudimentary standards. Unfortunately by doing this they have also removed accountability of agencies whose officers do not follow the policy. Blanket Immunity has become an untouchable issue because of California Law Enforcement. California Law Enforcement is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the state. Additionally, the endorsement of political candidates by Law Enforcement is a very important element in any campaign. California Law Enforcement would like to frame the whole immunity issue into the simplistic logic of "If the bad guys had not run, none of this would have happened." PERIOD. While this is certainly true it ignores the complexity of pursuits and prevents any rational approach to making them safer and less costly. The scandalous position of California Law Enforcement is that they are powerless to do anything to prevent pursuit deaths and injuries and that is exactly what they do-nothing.
Read more!
Read more!
Jim Phillips
1:31 PM
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