NYPD Chief to Cops: Rein In High-Speed Car Chases
As recent cop chases that result in bystander casualties–including an August 15 incident that is being investigated by NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau–seem to be increasing in Manhattan, Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey warned rank-and-file officers in an internal memo against causing general mayhem during pursuits.
| 18 Aug 2023 | 03:41
The scene of an August 15 Greenwich Village crash, when a cyclist was struck by a Mercedes-Benz fleeing the NYPD in a chase the began in Alphabet City. (
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An NYPD-commandeered Chevy Suburban. (
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Dangerous cop chases have been on the rise in Manhattan, with two occurring in the same day on August 1. A similar incident went down on Tuesday, August 15, resulting in a cyclist being critically injured in Greenwich Village.
In the most recent ruckus, cops on the beat at the time claim they saw a gun in a Mercedes-Benz on New York City Housing Authority footage, resulting in an attempted traffic stop on Avenue A & 3rd Avenue that led to the high-wire pursuit. A police report provided to Straus News didn’t mention a gun. Two men in the pursued vehicle were reportedly taken into custody, but the charges against them or their identities have yet to be released. NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is reportedly investigating the chase and the rationale provided by the officers for it.
Due to this event and its predecessors, NYPD brass are clearly attempting to quiet public criticism of officers engaging in high-speed pursuits of suspects that can endanger civilians. An internal memo entitled “Vehicle Pursuits” and signed by NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said that “a vehicle pursuit must be terminated whenever the risks to members of the service and the public outweigh the danger to the community if the suspect is not immediately apprehended.”
The Maddrey memo says that patrol supervisors, platoon commanders, and borough duty captains are singled out as bearing the responsibility to appropriately limit these cop chases.
Other factors that go into determining what would be an allegedly reasonable high-wire cop chase include “the nature of the offense, the time of day, weather conditions, location and population density,” and “familiarity with the area.”
Maddrey’s memo emphasizes that cops who ignore the guidelines may face disciplinary action. Each chase will require a Vehicle Pursuit Report, and if there is an accident, a Collision Report.
Maddrey himself has been the target of some bad press recently, after it was bandied about on the rumor mill that former NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell retired partially due to him chafing at her leadership. He has been said to maintain a back-channel rapport with Mayor Eric Adams, which potentially allowed him to undercut Sewell denying him vacation time after he voided the arrest of a retired precinct captain.