MILWAUKEE — Emails, calls and messages on social media. We heard from many of you this week after two police pursuits where innocent people were killed or seriously injured.
Many of you asked if there was any technology police could use to reduce risks to innocent people. So, TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins set out to learn more about options that exist and asked Milwaukee's mayor if he'd be open to exploring the use of technology within the City of Milwaukee.
"We need to work to change the behavior," said Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Johnson is frustrated to hear that another innocent life was taken by a driver who was trying to get away from police.
"I want folks to realize and recognize too, that if the police are pursuing somebody, chances are they're already doing something illegal," said Johnson.
After his son was innocently killed during a police chase in 2007, Jonathan Farris began to explore how technology can help police departments reduce the risk of police pursuits. He is the founder of an organization called Pursuit for Change.
"Why wouldn't you use every possible tool that's available? Why wouldn't you try all of those and figure out which one works most effectively most often," said Farris. "Milwaukee, prior to a change, had begun to use one of those tools which is a GPS dart, the company was Starchase, and they're involved with law enforcement agencies across the country."
MPD's program was shelved in 2019 for reasons including the effectiveness of the device in cold weather, cost and familiarity with the device.
One of those agencies is the Oak Brook Police Department in Illinois, about an hour and a half south of Milwaukee.
"We have the ability to back off, follow it with our GPS tracking system, coordinate a plan of attack and what our plan is to make an apprehension," said Sgt. Jason Wood, Oak Brook Police Department's Tactical Unit Supervisor.
Wood said Starchase has made huge improvements to make sure the device is effective in our kind of weather.
What they've done is they've changed the chemistry of the epoxy that allows it to stick a little bit better, they've added a stronger magnet to it — so it is feasible to use it in the colder weather," Wood said.
And say even though people are familiar with the tools, the GPS technology still allows police to slow down once the darts are deployed, reducing the risk of the pursuit.
It's technology Mayor Johnson said he's open to considering if police are interested and if it means safer pursuits.
"I'm interested in opportunities that are out there because I want this to be safe," said Johnson. "but again, that's a decision for the police to make to make sure they're doing this in the most effective way possible that provides preventable measures but also holds folks accountable if they're breaking the law and endangering not just themselves but also the greater public safe."
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