Civil rights advocates had been pushing the Fairfax County Police Department for years to establish clear rules limiting when officers can pursue individuals on foot.
However, the department’s implementation of a formal foot pursuit policy last month inspired consternation, rather than celebration, from community organizations that had advocated for the reform, including the Fairfax County chapter of the NAACP.
The policy, which took effect on April 9, is “deeply flawed” and fails to address the safety and equity concerns that prompted its creation in the first place, the Fairfax County NAACP argued in a statement released last Thursday (May 1)…