Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), has said the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) new pursuit policy will put agents at risk.
Judd noted that the NBPC has submitted numerous questions to CBP asking for clarification of some of the language in the new policy, which is scheduled to take effect in May.
"CBP’s new pursuit policy purports to be about saving lives, but in reality, it is more about making it almost impossible for Border Patrol Agents, Customs and Border Protection Officers, and other law enforcement officers (LEO) in CBP to do their jobs," Judd said in a Jan. 31 NBPC release. "It essentially absolves smugglers of all responsibility for the terrible things they do on the road and places it squarely on the shoulders of the LEOs trying to do their job to protect America."
CBP issued the new policy titled Emergency Driving and Vehicular Pursuits on Jan. 11 and said it will replace the directive titled Emergency Driving Including Vehicular Pursuits, which was issued in 2021, the release said. Judd highlighted several aspects of the new policy that NBPC found concerning. One problem was that if CBP agents are pursuing a smuggler and the smuggler's vehicle crashes, CBP will hold the pursuing agent responsible for failing to determine the “foreseeability of risk” and end the pursuit.
"Smugglers will be encouraged to drive recklessly, causing supervisors to immediately end pursuits because they want to avoid being investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), allowing smugglers to escape into the country with unknown people or contraband," Judd said in the release.
Another problem highlighted was that under previous pursuit policies, two law enforcement vehicles were allowed to engage directly in pursuits, while additional agents could follow at a distance in case they were needed for backup. Under the new policy, three vehicles can engage in the pursuit, but no other vehicles can follow at a distance, which Judd said creates "significant officer safety concerns." The new policy also requires agents to activate their lights and sirens if they exceed the speed limit, even momentarily and even if on an empty road, which Judd said could alert smugglers to the agents' locations.
Judd also noted that CBP agents will only undergo a one-hour training session on the new policy before it goes into effect, which he believes is not sufficient.
CBP said that in determining the changes to the pursuit policy, it reviewed more than 24 vehicle pursuit policies associated with various law enforcement agencies across the country, a January CBP news release reported.
“As a professional law enforcement organization, CBP is continually updating policies to reflect best practices, public safety needs, and evolving public expectations,” CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in the news release. “The safety of officers, agents, and the public are paramount as we carry out our mission.” Additionally, the agency acknowledged that vehicle pursuits are inherently risky, and they are working to enact risk-based assessments for future pursuits.
A January ACLU Texas fact sheet reported that 22 people died as a result of CBP vehicle pursuits in 2021, compared to two deaths in 2019.
