The NYPD clarified its policy in 2023 after car chases increased. John Chell — who was previously the chief of patrol but is currently the chief of department — championed the old policy at the time, saying that officers were good at vehicle pursuits. "People thinking they can take off on us, those days are over,” he said at the time.

In a move that appears to signal a shift toward prioritizing safety, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has rolled out a new policy for the department tightening the rules on vehicle

In December, we reported that the number of car chases by New York Police Department officers skyrocketed under Mayor Eric Adams, accompanied by a rise in the crash rate for NYPD vehicles. Increasingly,