DUBLIN, Ga. — On Friday, two people died after a high speed chase on I-16 E ended with a PIT maneuver by a Laurens County Sheriff's deputy.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, a 2005 Chevrolet Impala attempted to avoid a license check near exit 58 for State Route 199. A Laurens County deputy attempted to stop them using lights and sirens and began a chase after he was ignored.
GSP says the Impala was driving recklessly at high speeds. After a short chase, the deputy utilized a PIT maneuver, or pursuit intervention technique, by touching the left front of their vehicle to the back right rear quarter panel of the suspects vehicle. The Impala lost control and hit a tree, leaving two men dead and a third in Navicent Health.
The Laurens County Sheriff's Office has defended the use of the maneuver on Facebook, saying that he used the procedure to "end the threat to others traveling on the roadway."
13WMAZ obtained chase procedures for several Central Georgia agencies on Monday. According to Laurens County's handbook, a PIT maneuver will only be used to "end the threat to others traveling on the roadway" and only when other methods for stopping a fleeing vehicle have been considered and will not work.
Not all law enforcement agencies work the same. Georgia State Patrol uses the exact same language for PIT maneuvers as LCSO, but the Bibb County Sheriff's Office refers to a technique called "ramming." Their procedures define it as "the deliberate act of impacting a violator’s vehicle with another vehicle to functionally damage or otherwise force the violator’s vehicle to stop." The maneuver can only be used with direct supervisor approval.
Warner Robins Police Department does not allow a PIT maneuver at all. "Officers may not stop or attempt to stop a suspect vehicle by striking it."
GSP and Laurens County both say that the trooper or deputy must consider variables before using a PIT including road and weather conditions, speeds involved and pedestrian traffic.
The Laurens County Sheriff's Office said once the state patrol finishes their investigation, the Sheriff's office will share dashcam footage of the highway chase.