County takes action to address high-speed DPS pursuits

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County Commissioners Court approved three proposals to help address the issue of high-speed pursuits in El Paso County by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers during their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

The action came after hearing a study conducted by the El Paso County Attorney’s
Office that was presented to the Commissioners Court last week, the County Attorney’s Office said.

The study found that DPS’s vehicle pursuits are an “ongoing, pressing danger to the El Paso Community,” the County Attorney’s Office said.

These are the three proposals approved by the Commissioners Court, according to the County Attorney’s Office.

Sponsored
1. Continue working with the El Paso State Legislative Delegation to propose legislation
   to modify DPS’s vehicle pursuit policy or otherwise bring transparency and
   accountability for vehicle pursuits. El Paso County will be sending legislators a letter
   formalizing the request and sharing any further data and resources on this issue.
2. Add the issue of high-speed pursuits to the County’s Legislative Agenda Values
   document so that Commissioners Court can take any actions on bills that address the
   issue.
3. Reach out to the City of El Paso to share data about the high-speed chases and request
   support from the City Council to address this problem.

Under Operation Lone Star (OLS) — a state program with the goal of eliminating undocumented migration in Texas — El Paso County experienced a “dramatic” 625% increase in DPS vehicle pursuits from 2022 to 2023, the County Attorney’s Office said.

“Even though the number of migrants encountered by immigration authorities at the U.S./Mexico dropped precipitously in 2024, the number of DPS vehicle pursuits in 2024 occurred at the same inordinate rate as in 2023,” the County Attorney’s Office said.

“The safety of our community, including bystanders and law enforcement officers, is our top
priority,” El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez said. “We support law enforcement’s
efforts to keep our community safe and understand that in some situations pursuits are necessary; however, we are calling on a change to DPS’s vehicle pursuit policy, to include common-sense solutions and easy to implement policies in order to enforce the law without needlessly putting lives at risk.”

“We are not asking DPS troopers to turn a blind eye to crime,” Sanchez added. “We are simply
asking them to follow best practices and avoid engaging in high-speed chases when the risk to the public and their officers is too great.”

The study cited several alternatives to high-speed pursuits, including:

• Obtaining the fleeing vehicle’s license plate number for later apprehension.
• Employing technology like helicopters or drones to track the vehicle from a safe
  distance.
• Implementing strategic roadblocks or other measures to slow or contain the vehicle
  without resorting to dangerous tactics.