Since taking office in 2023, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Harold Pretel updated the department’s policies on vehicle pursuits, including easing restrictions on the use of a potentially dangerous tactic.
The tactic, commonly referred to as a “PIT,” which stands for Precision Immobilization Technique, Pursuit Intervention Technique or Push It Tough, among other names for it, involves pulling next to another vehicle and using the front bumper of a patrol car to push on the rear corner of the suspect vehicle.
The sheriff’s department describes it as “a forced rotational vehicle stop of noncompliant subject vehicle.”…