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Councilmember urges state to change pursuit policies after local death
Summary
A councilmember asked the state to ban high-speed pursuits and PIT maneuvers and to work with APD and local jurisdictions after the death of a resident known as Cooper; the resolution was presented as a statement and follow-up with state legislators was promised.
A councilmember urged the state to change its pursuit policies and asked officials to prohibit high-speed pursuits and pit maneuvers after the death of a local resident the speaker identified as Cooper.
The request was presented to the council as a formal statement to the state, the councilmember said, noting that the state ‘‘supersedes us on everything’’ and the city is using its platform ‘‘to make a statement on behalf of our communities and the safety of our civilians.”
The councilmember said Cooper and his family lived in the councilmember’s district and asked the state to ‘‘do everything we can to continue pushing’’ for new pursuit policies. ‘‘Essentially, it asks for no high speed pursuits and no more pit maneuvers and actually working with APD and our jurisdictions to tackle these crimes together,’’ the councilmember said.
The speaker framed the request as a response to a recent death. ‘‘Members of my community all helped raise Cooper. They saw him grow up. His family has a long history in the land, and for his life to be taken away so quickly and for no reason is enough of a reason for them to change his policy. 1 death is too much. It's too many, and there have been far more than just Cooper,’’ the councilmember said during remarks recorded in the meeting transcript.
On next steps, the councilmember said the plan is to keep pressing state lawmakers and to enlist public support. ‘‘The plan here is to continue following up. The plan is to continue pushing for new policy. The plan is to work with our our state our state legislators who are allies, and that's to do everything we can to continue pushing. We need the public's help,’’ the councilmember said.
The transcript segments presented the proposal as a statement and an appeal to the state; the record does not show a vote or final adoption of a resolution at this meeting. No specific statutory citations or proposed ordinance language were presented in the provided remarks, and no implementation timetable or enforcement mechanism was specified.
The discussion combined personal testimony about a local fatality, a policy request to state authorities, and a pledge by the speaker to follow up with allied state legislators and the public for further action.
