Hawaii legislature passes bill to limit police chases following Chronicle investigation

San Francisco Chronicle​

03-05-2025

Lawmakers in Hawaii overwhelmingly passed legislation this week to restrict police pursuits to the most serious crimes following a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that revealed more than 3,300 deaths tied to chases, including more than 500 bystanders.
The legislation is poised to place Hawaii ahead of much of the country, where officers operate under often permissive rules that vary by department. It was sent this week to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green for his signature.
'The whole point is to make bright lines – so police can make split second decisions – limiting them to chases over the most serious offenses,' said state Rep. David Tarnas, chair of the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee, who introduced the bill in January. The Chronicle's ' reporting helped us establish clear guidelines to protect the public. Left without clear guidance, the results can be tragic for the public and the police, and your reporting made that tragically clear.'
The bill would become the first statewide pursuit policy that draws on new model state rules from the New York University School of Law's Policing Project. The school developed the model rules in response to ' Fast and Fatal,' the Chronicle's investigation, among other sources of inspiration.
The Chronicle's investigation revealed that most chases begin with a low-level crime – or no crime at all. Additionally, passengers and bystanders account for most of those killed. There is no binding national standard governing whether and how police should chase suspects. Few officers are held accountable for reckless pursuits.
The legislation sailed through both chambers with bipartisan support. It establishes stricter guidelines, better data collection, including on pursuits that maim and kill, and more accountability for officers who initiate chases.
It would limit pursuits to incidents in which drivers or passengers are attempting to commit or have committed certain serious offenses, such as felonies involving actual or potential physical injury, sexual offenses and certain types of assault and domestic abuse.
If enacted, the legislation will also provide more transparency and public accountability. The state's Law Enforcement Standards Board will be charged with developing a model pursuit policy for all of Hawaii's law enforcement agencies by July 1, 2026. The legislation requires the board to include in its model policy additional rules that cover riskier activities, including PIT maneuvers — a dubious tactic adopted from stock car racing that the Chronicle found had killed 87 people in six years, nearly half of them bystanders and passengers.
Further, the Hawaii Attorney General must adopt rules for the collection and reporting of data on every pursuit to its office. Police agencies will have to provide data each year on pursuit-related injuries and fatalities, enforcement outcomes and the unique identification numbers of police officers and their supervisors involved in each chase.
The state's police agencies must adopt written policies that align with the pursuit bill's requirements and these pursuit policy and data collection rules by Jan. 1, 2027, and sworn officers will have to complete related training every two years.
Josh Parker, deputy director of policy for NYU School of Law's Policing Project, credited the newspaper's series with helping compel Hawaii's reforms.
"The Chronicle's thorough, data-driven reporting on the dangers of vehicle pursuits provided firm national evidence for both my organization and lawmakers across the country that legislation and policies restricting pursuits to serious crimes is vital to protect the lives of community members and officers alike,' Parker said. 'By not allowing dangerous chases for low-level crimes and traffic infractions like having one broken taillight or playing loud music, Hawaii joins a growing number of jurisdictions and agencies nationwide that recognize that restrictive pursuit policies are necessary to save lives and protect public safety.'
Hawaii's legislation is part of a larger discussion about limiting when and how police chase suspects on the roads. The president of the New York City Police Benevolent Association, the nation's largest police union, recently praised a restrictive pursuit policy instituted by the NYPD, Parker noted.
A 2023 report paid for by the U.S. Justice Department urged police to limit pursuits to people who have committed a violent crime and pose an imminent threat to others. The Honolulu County Police Department currently permits high-speed cases for any crime or traffic infraction, no matter how minor.
State lawmakers in Hawaii introduced a similar bill last year that would have established a statewide pursuit policy, but it stalled in the Senate amid opposition from local law enforcement.
In 2021, Honolulu police launched a high-speed chase over a noise complaint, reaching speeds of 108 mph before an officer in an unmarked SUV bumped into the fleeing car and sent it careening into a field. The ensuing crash seriously injured one adult and five teenagers, including a passenger whose eye split open.
Instead of rendering medical aid, the officers drove away, then returned to the scene and acted as if they hadn't caused the crash, video and records later showed. The driver of the car settled a lawsuit against the city of Honolulu for $12.5 million after suffering severe brain damage.