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CNN Live Today

Police Can Train for High Speed Pursuit in Michigan

Aired May 08, 2002 - 12:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: High speed police chases can be dangerous for everyone involved, as well as for innocent bystanders. So to help reduce the risk of putting the pedal to the metal in a pursuit, police often train at a state of the art track in Lansing, Michigan.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is there with a look at how it's done, and Keith of course, I want to know if you got into the police car and burned a little bit?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, they've been taking us around on the track and you know sort of giving us a sense of the maneuvers out here. So, it's been a lot of fun.

We obviously have some wet weather out here, Kyra, but that will not prevent us from doing a live demonstration and showing you why this precision driving school is sought after by police agencies from around the country.

OPPENHEIM (voice over): Now the man to watch right now is Lieutenant David Halliday. He is going to do what's called an evasive maneuver. He's actually really going to show you what happens when students do this maneuver incorrectly.

There you go. He wiped out some cones and he goes into something of a spin and it's really critical for students to learn what to do wrong, so they can learn to do it right on the job. That's part and parcel of precision driving school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM (voice over): The elements of a chase, the bad guy, the police officer, and the agonizing question, is catching the suspect worth the risk?

STEPHANIE MORNINGSTAR, STUDENT POLICE OFFICER: Well, if you get in that situation where you think, you know, this might not be good, I might not be able to do this, probably not be able to do this, you can back off and know that you might save a life of a pedestrian, a child.

OPPENHEIM: The problems of pursuit are central themes of the Michigan State Police Precision Driving Program. This is 40 intense hours of training, where experienced officers learn how to drive more effectively. LIEUTENANT DAVID HALLIDAY, COMMANDER, PRECISION DRIVING PROGRAM: We can take them out on our skid pad, which has the same friction coefficient as hard packed snow on a 90-degree day in July, and show them how anti-lock brake systems work.

OPPENHEIM: The goal is to simulate the real world, yet allow officers to make mistakes without serious consequences. To cut to the chase, notice how the police car follows a different line from the suspect's car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to drive the speed that the suspect's going. You can drive at a lesser speed and catch up, make time through the corners, know how to corner, know what the vehicle is going to do, and there's a lot to it.

OPPENHEIM: Keep in mind, the Michigan State Police say many of their officers killed in the line of duty die because of traffic injuries. Making more mature decisions with better maneuvers can in combination save lives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Break, steer, zig, back in your lane, and bring the vehicle to a stop.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPENHEIM (on camera): Kyra, at the end of a 40-hour program, the students take a written exam and they also have to pass a performance test, and one of the key things for the students who want to stay longer, if they can for another two weeks, they do that if they want to become instructors, the idea being they want to take home some of the skills to their home departments. Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Keith Oppenheim, thanks so much.

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