High Risk Critical Task: Care, Custody, Restraint, and Transportation of Prisoners
Restraining and transporting subjects is a common task performed by law enforcement officers that generally falls into two scenarios. The first is immediately after arrest when the arrestee is taken to the agency’s holding facility or jail for booking. The second involves the movement of prisoners from the holding facility to a hospital or other medical facility; to court; to attend a funeral or elsewhere outside the jail. Regardless of the reason for the transportation of prisoners, potential hazards are always present. Therefore, it is the policy of this Agency to establish uniform procedures that provide adequate safety and security of prisoners, transporting deputies, and the public during prisoner transport. There is a clear-cut duty to protect prisoners who are in custody of the agency because persons who are involuntarily held cannot protect themselves.
Scenario: A deputy conducts a traffic stop and discovers that the operator of the motor vehicle has an arrest warrant. The deputy takes the individual into custody, secures him in the rear seat of the patrol car, and heads toward the jail. While enroute to the jail, the deputy hears a call for service over the radio regarding a reported assault outside a local bar that is one street over from his location where he is stopped at a traffic light. The deputy also hears a description of the suspect vehicle that fled from the bar. While waiting for the light to turn green, the deputy observes the wanted vehicle fleeing at a high rate of speed through the same intersection.
Question: What should the deputy do?
- Pursue the suspect vehicle in an effort to stop it.
- Ignore the situation due to the fact that they are transporting a prisoner and therefore not available to pursue.
- Notify the dispatcher about the fleeing vehicle, but do not pursue it with the prisoner in the car.
- Follow the suspect vehicle at a safe speed and distance, providing updates over the radio regarding its location and direction of travel to assist other deputies in apprehending the suspect.
Answer: “C.” Most law enforcement agencies have strict policies governing prisoner transport due to safety and liability issues. A deputy is typically required to take the prisoner directly to the booking facility (or headquarters) and avoid distractions such as taking enforcement action. Most policies allow for a deviation only in the most extreme emergency situations, like a “clear and grave risk” to a third party. In this case, the best course of action would be to notify the dispatcher about the location and direction of travel of the fleeing suspect vehicle. Deputies should refrain from becoming involved in any type of response and/or enforcement actions while they have a prisoner in their custody.
Note: The content of this Roll Call is derived from the Law Enforcement High-Risk Critical Task Lesson Plans of Legal and Liability Risk Management Institute (LLRMI). It has been edited by NIRMA for Nebraska agencies.
