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BURBANK, Calif. () — A California congresswoman introduced a bill on Wednesday to help police respond to high-speed chases.
The timing was ironic, with two separate police chases ending in crashes and suspect deaths across SoCal on Wednesday.
The Next Gen Road Safety Act introduced by Congresswoman Laura Friedman would expand the COPS grant program so law enforcement agencies can access federal funds to purchase modern tools and technology to prevent and de-escalate high-speed pursuits.
Those tools include vehicle-disabling systems that can safely stop a fleeing car, police bumper systems to reduce the risk of collisions and drones to track pursuit drivers.
“Drones is definitley one of those technologies that we are looking to deploy,” Burbank Police Chief Rafael Quintero said at a press conference announcing the bill. “Especially when you don’t have air assets up there, and drones are able to be a little bit more nimble and flexible in getting in certain areas, that’s one. Two, I’m sure all the media present here has seen the grappler. We’ve all seen, maybe a TikTok video or an Instagram associated with its effectiveness. That is something that we are looking into and actually considering.”
The grappler is the tool that was used in Wednesday’s pursuit that ended in a major crash in Jurupa Valley, though the Riverside Sheriff’s Department noted that its deployment was unsuccessful.
Congressman Friedman says more than 94% of police pursuits end without any safe termination technology deployed.
SEE ALSO: Suspect dies by suicide after chase with grappler ends in violent Jurupa Valley crash, deputies say
A suspect is dead after a chase came to a dramatic end in Jurupa Valley when deputies attempted to deploy a grappler device moments before a major crash.
The suspect in the Jurupa Valley chase lost control and crashed into a concrete wall after the grappler was unsuccessful. After a lengthy standoff with deputies, the sheriff’s department said he died by suicide.
Earlier Wednesday, a dangerous police chase ended with an exchange of gunfire, leaving one suspect dead and another in the hospital in east Los Angeles.
READ MORE: Police shoot, kill suspect after brief chase ends in crash on 5 Freeway off-ramp in East LA
A dangerous police chase ended with an exchange of gunfire on Wednesday morning, leaving one suspect dead and another in the hospital.
The chase began when officers spotted a vehicle that was reported stolen near Towne Avenue and 7th Street in downtown L.A. Officers tried to pull the vehicle over, and that’s when the chase began.
The deadly police shooting happened just a short time later, when the driver made a U-turn on a 5 Freeway off-ramp and slammed into one of the pursuing patrol vehicles, according to LAPD. The driver then reportedly got out of the car and fired shots, and the officers returned fire.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger, who survived, was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
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