Indiana State Police Mustang GT Fleet Reports For Duty

[porterhousestk]

I couldn't image having to drive with all that gear on! Really cool to see some interior pictures, I always liked the seemingly endless accessories for Crown Victoria police cruisers, I wonder if there will ever be any accessories made for Police Mustangs that civilians could eventually buy.

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[UnloosedChewtoy]

I've seen local po po chasing a crotch rocket through stop lights at insane speeds here in town. I was as the stop light. Had it changed, I could have gone, but unlike other people, I look before I go.
I asked the precinct captain about that, who I knew, and he said they were chasing a FELON. Is that more important than the real potential of wiping out a family? Too many chases need to be terminated for the safety of OTHER people on the highways and streets. I think the chasers have other motives. Speeding tickets don't slow people down, obviously.

In my opinion, it depends. If the plates come back to someone (not stolen/fake/etc.), I agree, terminate the pursuit and visit the guy/gal later.

If the car comes back stolen, bad plates, etc., terminating the pursuit just rewards the criminals. They learn quickly there are no consequences. So then its a rock and a hard place, terminate the pursuit to potentially save an accident but the guy goes on to do other crimes that are a risk to the public, or stop the bad guy with risk to the public. I vote to stop the person. Yes, it involves a risk, but the alternative is worse.

 

[LouG]

I've seen local po po chasing a crotch rocket through stop lights at insane speeds here in town. I was as the stop light. Had it changed, I could have gone, but unlike other people, I look before I go.
I asked the precinct captain about that, who I knew, and he said they were chasing a FELON. Is that more important than the real potential of wiping out a family? Too many chases need to be terminated for the safety of OTHER people on the highways and streets. I think the chasers have other motives. Speeding tickets don't slow people down, obviously.

You know what the motive is? The thrill of the chase, and "he's not going to beat me" attitude.
We all had it to varying degrees, and it's worst in the younger guys. You do grow out of it, age brings wisdom, sometimes.

 

[NewGuard]

This is cool and all, but I question the utility. They don't have push bars on their front, so one assumes they won't be involved in PIT maneuvers to stop the perp. Would the goal just be to keep up and notify others where to intercept and arrest? I guess they're cheaper than a helicopter for that purpose. Do they discourage or encourage hot pursuits? I guess time will tell...

 

[Junkyard Dog]

I've seen local po po chasing a crotch rocket through stop lights at insane speeds here in town. I was as the stop light. Had it changed, I could have gone, but unlike other people, I look before I go.
I asked the precinct captain about that, who I knew, and he said they were chasing a FELON. Is that more important than the real potential of wiping out a family? Too many chases need to be terminated for the safety of OTHER people on the highways and streets. I think the chasers have other motives. Speeding tickets don't slow people down, obviously.

It is an important public policy question, and departments all over stress over whether they have the right policy in place.

Terminating too many chases actually encourages drivers to run - why not? No downside if the officer is going to stop chasing.

Also, policies sometimes require some level of "dangerousness." But guess what? The driver will intentionally create dangerous situations just to make the officer stop in accord with the policy.

I have chased a car, taken a driver into custody, and had the description of a robber come out after the arrest, when he is sitting in the back of my car. I had nothing more on him at the start than speeding.

One solution might be to make running from the police a more serious crime (something I advocate, along with treating real crime, robbery, rape, murder, theft, kidnapping, forgery, that sort of thing, very harshly).

But nobody wants to punish to poor kid who was just turning his life around . . .

 

[Frogdog1]

In my opinion, it depends. If the plates come back to someone (not stolen/fake/etc.), I agree, terminate the pursuit and visit the guy/gal later.

If the car comes back stolen, bad plates, etc., terminating the pursuit just rewards the criminals. They learn quickly there are no consequences. So then its a rock and a hard place, terminate the pursuit to potentially save an accident but the guy goes on to do other crimes that are a risk to the public, or stop the bad guy with risk to the public. I vote to stop the person. Yes, it involves a risk, but the alternative is worse.

I respectfully disagree. The city I was born in was sued by what was left of a family after being hit by a police car that was chasing someone for a traffic violation at some "inappropriate" speed. The city lost the case and put in specific instances where chases were allowed.

A stolen car, no, there are other ways to catch the perp., as just an example. This topic could blow up into never ending disagreement but I don't believe in chasing people down at ridiculous speeds in a Mustang GT. There are other ways to catch someone for a traffic violation. Like I said, best to terminate this topic because I won't change my beliefs on it.

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

I respectfully disagree. The city I was born in was sued by what was left of a family after being hit by a police car that was chasing someone for a traffic violation at some "inappropriate" speed. The city lost the case and put in specific instances where chases were allowed.

A stolen car, no, there are other ways to catch the perp., as just an example. This topic could blow up into never ending disagreement but I don't believe in chasing people down at ridiculous speeds in a Mustang GT. There are other ways to catch someone for a traffic violation. Like I said, best to terminate this topic because I won't change my beliefs on it.

Did not expect you to change your beliefs. You said your piece, I said mine, enough said. No worries dude, thank you for being respectful. I hope I came across the same.

 

[saleen367]

Seems to be a waste of tax dollars to me. Can't make an arrest with no where to put a detainee and they aren't likely to be a great winter weather patrol vehicle.

 

[Frogdog1]

Did not expect you to change your beliefs. You said your piece, I said mine, enough said. No worries dude, thank you for being respectful. I hope I came across the same.

I isn't worth arguing about because nobody on an internet forum is going to change what a state police dept. drives. Yes, you came across respectful dude.

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

I isn't worth arguing about because nobody on an internet forum is going to change what a state police dept. drives. Yes, you came across respectful dude.

But this isn't how we behave on the internet in 2025. We're supposed to get all "hot and bothered" and start flaming each other, throw out overly-generalized adjectives and names at each other, make threats, and get threads locked down by moderators.

Threads like this give me a glimmer of hope for humanity.

 

[LouG]

It's fraught situation. Having been on both sides, I see how a speeding offence could turn into something bigger.
One of our guys stopped one of the biggest Australasian drug kingpins for speeding. Because we didn't have powers of search, or Police freq R/T's he couldn't search the car. If he had though, he would have found the kilos of dope, and other goodies, and would have been dead. This guy was armed, we weren't.
On the other side, Police chased a biker for a pissant 20kmh over the 100kmh limit. He ran ,they chased, he hit and killed an innocent woman.
Then the cops lied and said they had stopped the pursuit. Witnesses saw the leading patrol car plough through the accident scene.
They also said he was armed and had drugs. He actully had a broken down .22 in his backpck for rabbit shooting, and a little bit of dope for his own use.
I'm now leaning towards the "match the response to the crime" side of the argument.

 

[Frogdog1]

You know what the motive is? The thrill of the chase, and "he's not going to beat me" attitude.
We all had it to varying degrees, and it's worst in the younger guys. You do grow out of it, age brings wisdom, sometimes.

I totally believe that. ^^^^^

If a guy robbed a bank, let him go if the chase gets out of hand, but if he robbed a bank and someone was killed, that's another situation, totally. What it boils down to is good judgement. That can be asking a lot from some people.

Personally, I don't trust any state patrol guy in a Mustang GT. There's too much temptation to open it up and turn a speeding ticket into a death sentence for somebody on the highway. People in this U.S. are going to speed. They always have and always will. My radar detector is only to just know where they are though.......

 

[Junkyard Dog]

It's fraught situation. Having been on both sides, I see how a speeding offence could turn into something bigger.
One of our guys stopped one of the biggest Australasian drug kingpins for speeding. Because we didn't have powers of search, or Police freq R/T's he couldn't search the car. If he had though, he would have found the kilos of dope, and other goodies, and would have been dead. This guy was armed, we weren't.
On the other side, Police chased a biker for a pissant 20kmh over the 100kmh limit. He ran ,they chased, he hit and killed an innocent woman.
Then the cops lied and said they had stopped the pursuit. Witnesses saw the leading patrol car plough through the accident scene.
They also said he was armed and had drugs. He actully had a broken down .22 in his backpck for rabbit shooting, and a little bit of dope for his own use.
I'm now leaning towards the "match the response to the crime" side of the argument.

Is lying not an offense for police officers in New Zealand regarding actual facts in an investigation?

 

[LouG]

Is lying not an offense for police officers in New Zealand regarding actual facts in an investigation?

Yes, but no one pulls them up about it.
We had a innocent driver killed in a shoot out. He was down range of the incident, the cops sprayed and prayed ( 20 rounds at 15 metres or less, some from an M4 rifle, not one hit the offender) and there wasn't even an independant investigation.
Yet, the Police regularly charge hunters who do the same thing.
Licence to kill?

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