In June 2021, a man was pursued by a Bonner Springs police officer for having an expired license plate. The chase quickly escalated on Interstate 70, reaching speeds of up to 100 mph.
The officer deliberately collided with the car to abruptly terminate the pursuit, a tactic known as a tactical vehicle intervention or TVI.
Vincent’s death is not included in statewide or federal statistics on police chases due to a peculiar loophole. This is because the officer intentionally collided with his car.
State and federal authorities often do not include injuries or deaths caused by deliberate actions by police when compiling statistics on police chases. This omission is just one example of how the true extent of police chases is not accurately recorded.
Darrius Vincent, the son of Darrell Vincent, expressed his disagreement with the events that led to his father’s untimely demise. According to him, the chase that ensued ultimately cost his father his life, which he believed was a tragic and regrettable outcome. Darrius firmly held the belief that such a sequence of events should never have taken place, emphasizing the profound negative impact it had on their family.
National experts acknowledge that pursuits carry inherent risks and suggest limiting them to individuals who are suspected of committing violent felonies and pose an immediate danger to the public. After conducting an extensive investigation over several months, The Star discovered that law enforcement officers in the metro area engage in hazardous high-speed chases on a daily basis. These pursuits often occur for minor offenses such as license tag infractions, resulting in accidents, injuries, and even fatalities.
Experts assert that despite incomplete data, there is enough evidence to demonstrate that chases pose a significant threat to public safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, 525 individuals lost their lives in police pursuits. Notably, Missouri accounted for 12 fatalities, whereas Kansas reported six casualties, as per the data from the Kansas Department of Transportation.
Unreliable data
This Article Includes
Data on police pursuits is not comprehensive and is not required by any federal agency.
According to a report on pursuits by the Police Executive Research Forum, it is voluntary for NHTSA to submit annual numbers about fatal chases.
Chuck Wexler, the executive director of PERF, acknowledges the uncertainty surrounding the true scope of the problem. He emphasizes the need for more accurate information to better understand the issue at hand. However, based on the data reported to NHTSA, Wexler asserts that there is enough evidence to confirm that this is a nationwide problem.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Department of Public Safety, and the Missouri Department of Transportation do not collect comprehensive information on police chases at a statewide level.
According to data compiled by the Kansas Department of Transportation, there were a total of 179 crashes involving police chases in the state. These incidents resulted in five fatalities, 95 injuries, and 111 instances of property damage in the last year alone. Over the past decade, these pursuits have claimed the lives of 53 individuals and left more than 1,300 people injured.
Steve Hale, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), clarified that the data provided does not encompass accidents that take place on private property or result in damage of less than $1,000.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the data available on this matter is incomplete. This is because both statewide and national reporting requirements do not include cases classified as “legal intervention.” It is worth mentioning that this was the exact circumstance surrounding Darrell Vincent’s death, where the police employed the use of the TVI.
According to Theresa Havenstein, a crash data analyst with KDOT, if an officer employs any form of intervention during a chase or crash, the incident is not reported to them. As a result, the chase or crash would not be included in their records. Havenstein explains that while the officer may have completed some documentation on their end, it would not be submitted to KDOT.
Chases, crashes, and deaths similar to Vincent’s are not included in the annual reports on police pursuits, as stated by KDOT and NHTSA. According to the agencies, they adhere to the guidelines outlined in the American National Standard, which does not encompass TVIs as they are deemed lawful interventions.
Wexler expressed his confusion, stating, “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
KDOT did not provide any additional information regarding their data collection process in situations involving legal intervention.
‘Give it a shot’
On the evening of June 19, 2021, a Bonner Springs police officer initiated a pursuit of a 1996 Geo sedan after noticing a temporary license plate violation, as stated in a police report. The chase ensued at approximately 9:30 p.m.
The driver in the dashboard camera footage signals his intention to turn right, prompting the officer to activate his emergency lights. The driver then enters a QuikTrip, drives around a gas pump, and exits the parking lot while the officer switches on his sirens. As the driver turns onto K-7 Highway, other vehicles on the road shift to the right lane.
Around four minutes and 15 seconds into the chase, a supervisor grants permission for a Tactical Vehicle Intervention (TVI), a controversial tactic used to compel a driver to spin out and halt.
According to the officer, the speeds are currently at 90 mph and there is some traffic ahead. However, once he manages to pass the other vehicles, he will attempt to navigate through it.
The speeds reach up to 100 mph.
Chases in Bonner Springs
The Bonner Springs Police Department stated that the chase was in violation of their updated policy, which explicitly prohibits officers from using a TVI above 45 mph. The department emphasized that such high speeds make the situation “more unpredictable.”
According to PERF’s report on police pursuits, officers should consider factors such as speed, passengers, and traffic conditions when deciding whether to use a TVI. The report highlights several best practices related to chases.
According to the report, there is no definitive agreement among experts regarding the maximum speed at which a TVI should be used. However, it was mentioned that practice sessions at a federal police training facility typically occur at speeds ranging from 25 to 35 mph.
According to Bonner Springs Police Maj. Chris Nicholson, officers undergo comprehensive training on how to perform a TVI and the legal aspects associated with this tactic. Initially, they receive an hour of classroom instruction, which covers the necessary theoretical knowledge. Subsequently, officers spend the remainder of the day under the guidance of an instructor, both behind the wheel and in the driver’s seat, to gain practical experience.
According to Nicholson, students are expected to demonstrate their proficiency in three low-speed TVIs and three high-speed TVIs in order to pass. He also mentioned that while it is not mandatory, students are encouraged to undergo annual recertification by repeating the same practicals.
According to the Star’s investigation, the Bonner Springs Police Department has been involved in a significantly higher number of chases compared to its population size. In 2022 alone, officers pursued suspects 47 times in a town with a population of about 7,700. In contrast, Kansas City, Missouri, a city with over half a million people, had 98 recorded chases during the same period.
Bonner Springs Police Chief William Naff remained silent when asked about the department’s frequent involvement in high-speed pursuits and the tragic accident that resulted in Vincent’s death.
Darrius Vincent, the son of Vincent, pointed out that his father was killed over the Father’s Day weekend.
Darrell Vincent, the youngest of six children, spent his formative years in Kansas City, Kansas. He had the opportunity to live in Germany for a period before eventually returning to his hometown. Darrell was well-known for his love of music, his culinary skills, and his playful sense of humor.
In the early part of 2021, Darrius Vincent found himself in the hospital, where he was visited by his father. Normally not one to show much emotion, Darrius Vincent was taken aback to see his father in tears.
“He couldn’t bear to see me in poor health,” expressed Darrius Vincent, reflecting on the final encounter he shared with his father before his passing.
Darrius Vincent recognizes the importance of laws but emphasizes that not every situation involving police chases should be treated as a matter of life and death.
“The price is exorbitant.”
How we reported this
In March, two innocent bystanders lost their lives in a tragic police chase incident in Independence. This incident prompted Star reporters to investigate the frequency and impact of law enforcement pursuits in the Kansas City area. Over the course of nine months, these dedicated journalists submitted over 140 public records requests to over 60 local law enforcement agencies in the metro area. Their goal was to obtain police pursuit policies as well as documents detailing chases, crashes, and injuries that occurred over a span of five years.
Reporters have obtained investigative case files from serious and fatal wrecks, including dashboard camera recordings. They meticulously reviewed court documents from lawsuits and legal settlements. In total, the team thoroughly examined over 4,500 pages of documents, enabling them to identify notable patterns in police pursuits and practices in the metro area.
During their investigation, the authors of the report conducted interviews with over 60 individuals. These included innocent bystanders who had been injured in police chases, as well as family members of victims who had lost their lives in pursuit incidents. They also spoke with police officials, attorneys, and academics who have extensively studied the subject matter for many years. Additionally, they had the opportunity to interview an individual currently serving a prison sentence for causing a fatal crash during a police chase in 2018.
The project consists of a collection of eight stories, accompanied by interviews and footage of crashes, along with infographics that present the extent of police pursuits in the metro area.