Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Policy On Car Chases In Place For Guilford County Deputies

Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers has placed restrictions on pursuits that may lead to high-speed chases. Photo courtesy of dhrogersforsheriff.com.

The Guilford County Sheriff's Office has implemented a new policy for how deputies handle police chases. 

The procedural changes stem from a pursuit nearly two years ago that ended in a crash causing the deaths of five people. 

The News and Record reports that under the new policy, deputies are forbidden from pursuing suspects over nonviolent misdemeanors, such as shoplifting. The Battleground Avenue pursuit in September of 2017 came following a report of a stolen vehicle.

Sheriff Danny Rogers now says that a chase is justified for serious crimes, or if a person is considered violent.

The new policy, which was implemented in May, has drawn praise from the families of two women killed as a result of the 2017 chase, which reached speeds upwards of 130 miles per hour.

A wrongful death suit was filed against former Sheriff BJ Barnes and the deputy involved in the crash. The suit was dismissed earlier this year without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs have one year to refile. 

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate