Troopers must make decisions every day that affect not only the lives others, but their lives too.
What you see in this cruiser dashcam video from a few months ago, is a trooper making decisions - the right decisions to help stop a stolen vehicle pursuit.
The trooper started off by listening to the police radio; he listened to the information that was provided by dispatch and other troopers, and made the decision to respond to the call because it was headed in his direction (sort of).
The next decision the trooper made was whether to turn left or right when he came to an intersection. The trooper was set up to turn left, however while listening to the radio transmissions between other troopers, and updated information provided by dispatch, he ultimately decided to turn right. The trooper knew that it was more important to wait a few seconds to collect information and go in the correct direction than it was to waste valuable minutes and go in the wrong direction.
Not only was the trooper’s decision to turn right about listening and decision-making, but it was also about him being familiar with his patrol area. The trooper needed to know enough about his patrol area to help him make the proper decision about whether the pursuit was approaching the intersection or if it had already passed the intersection.
And finally…….the decision to use his cruiser to help stop the pursuit. The trooper swerved back and forth in hopes of getting the suspect to stop, but the trooper quickly realized that the suspect had no intentions of stopping. Stop Sticks are another option, however there wasn’t enough time, nor was there a safe spot, for the trooper to exit his cruiser and deploy Stop Sticks.
Thankfully, the trooper was not injured in the crash and neither were the suspects. As a matter of fact, the two suspects jumped out the stolen vehicle and ran. One suspect was caught right away and the other was later identified.
Every day when troopers put on their uniform and head to work they never know what the day (or night) is going to bring, but what they do know is that many decisions will have to be made. The most important factor when making decisions will always be to return home at the end of their shift.
Information provided by Connecticut State Police
