Police address recent increase in car chases in Shreveport-Bossier

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  – There has been an increase in police chases in the Shreveport area.

Shreveport police say they want to keep criminals off the street – even if it means you have to chase them down.

“We have to catch bad guys, and sometimes bad guys don’t want to be caught,” Shreveport Corporal Chris Bordelon said.

Before a chase, Bordelon says police would typically consider the nature of the crime as well as traffic conditions.

“Where the location of the stop takes place. There’s a big difference chasing a car on the interstate versus chasing a car through a neighborhood,” says Bordelon. “The time of day is something that is taken into account. We obviously don’t want to chase a car through a neighborhood when school is letting out.”

The Shreveport police chase policy mirrors how Bossier police conduct their car pursuits.

“You know what location it’s going to be that we are driving in, whether the time of day, means we have heavier traffic flow, the type of roadway, you know traffic conditions on that roadway. Is it extremely congested, is it not,” Public Information Officer for the City of Bossier City Erin Buchanan, adding police even take the weather conditions into consideration.

Overall, police say they aim to keep the public safe by any means necessary.

“We have had an increasing amount of vehicle pursuit lately, and what we’ve also had is many of those pursuits we’ve been able to seize weapons. And what we determined here in the police department is a lot of the shootings that we’ve had have been coming from vehicles. And one of those ways to stop those shootings is to stop those vehicles before the shooting occurred,” Bordelon said.

If citizens find themselves where they see a traffic pursuit the best thing they can do is pull over to the right of the road. And if it is possible, get off the roadway.