A way to reduce high-speed chases? Columbia may consider technology after pregnant woman dies in accident

Ashley Brown was about 27 weeks pregnant when she was killed while witnessing a high-speed police chase on North Main Street in early April.

Columbia police were in pursuit of a suspect wanted in the fatal shooting of a man at JT’s Kia car dealership earlier today. Police had been in pursuit for “less than a minute” when an officer struck Brown’s vehicle, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at the time. The police officer was also injured in this accident.

Now a Columbia city councilor wants police to test two new technologies that he says could help avoid dangerous pursuits in the future.

“I can’t speak to the situation from a fault standpoint,” Councilor Tyler Bailey said. But “if we can use technology that can help officers apprehend suspects while reducing the chances that an officer or the public could be harmed in that process, that’s something we should explore.” »

Bailey hopes the City Council will support pilot programs for two technologies designed to make police pursuits less dangerous.

The first technology is called StarChase and is marketed as an “alternative to high-speed pursuit.” The company specializes in projectile GPS devices that can be attached to vehicles that police want to pursue.

The GPS tracker can be launched by police from car-mounted or handheld devices at the start of a pursuit, then allow police to track their suspect without having to stay within sight of the sought-after motorist.

The second device Bailey hopes the city will test is called the Grappler Police Bumper, which would allow a police vehicle to attach a net-like object to the rear wheels of the vehicle it is pursuing.

Bailey doesn’t have an idea of ​​what the two technologies would cost the city, but he is asking his City Council colleagues to discuss the topic at future committee meetings.

“Things cost money,” Bailey said, admitting he doesn’t yet know if the city will have the budget for new technology, but he wants to get that information. The city’s current budget for the police department is $47 million.

He said the first step would be to agree some form of pilot program to see if both technologies, or one or the other, could be useful to the police service.

Bailey added that the goal is not to eliminate high-speed chases — he acknowledges that they can sometimes be necessary. He also added that the Columbia Police Department is good at “21st century policing,” so he thinks there will also be support for trying something new.

Other cities across the United States have already begun testing this equipment. New Haven, Connecticut, spent $85,000 on a one-year StarChase pilot for 14 aircraft in 2022. Renewing the program would cost New Haven an additional $15,000 each year, according to a report from the New Haven Independent .

A Minnesota county purchased three StarChase devices, spending $4,700 for each unit, plus $1,200 a year for GPS tracking services, according to Minnesota TV station Kare 11 reporting.

Grappler technology has also been estimated to cost about $6,000 per unit, plus about $600 to replace the net once used, according to the Albuquerque Journal, which reports that the Albuquerque Police Department is testing these devices.

This outlet also reports that use of the Grappler led to a stolen truck overturning, sending two people to the hospital.

Bailey said he doesn’t know if either or both devices would be a good fit for Columbia, but he hopes the city will be willing to explore the issue. He’s proposing these ideas at the Columbia City Council’s regular meeting Tuesday.