St. Petersburg police chase policy tightened

Changes are coming to the St. Petersburg Police Department's controversial pursuit policy.

On Thursday, Mayor Rick Kriseman and Interim Chief of Police David Dekay announced the change, which they said would go into effect immediately.

“Do we want to put people’s lives at risk over a stolen car? Kriseman said. "I think the answer to that question is no."

The new policy authorizes police officers to pursue vehicles only when the driver or occupants have been involved in a violent felony.

"This change in the pursuit policy will still allow officers to be effective in apprehending violent fleeing felons while minimizing risk to the public," Dekay said in a statement.

The police's pursuit policy came under fire in 2012, after two pursuits ended with crashes and several people injured. In one instance, a suspect crashed into a Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus, sending it careening into an apartment building.

Two weeks later, police chased suspects who crashed into four vehicles at a red light, injuring four people.

According to our partners at the Tampa Bay Times, the policy had been loosened in 2010 at the behest of then-Mayor Bill Foster. Kriseman had campaigned on promises to tighten it back up.

Dekay supports the move as a matter of public safety.

"When we engage in pursuits in such an urban environment there is more potential for injury to not only the officers but the criminals themselves,” he said. “And we want to make sure that we're pursuing them for the right reasons."

But the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association is against the pursuit policy change.

Executive Director Michael Krohn said the change is restricting officers from effectively doing their jobs and will embolden criminals.

"As an officer pulls up say to a burglary and they see the bad person fleeing they just have to sit and wave at them. And that's not the way I think our citizens want our community run,” Krohn said.

St. Petersburg police say last year, they had a total of 17 chases that were all violent felons:

The police union says the mayor and chief should've provided more training for officers before changing the policy.