The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department revised its policy to restrict pursuits after innocent bystanders Tamya Westmoreland and Sharday Elder were killed during separate high-speed chases involving deputies.
The new policy will only allow pursuits involving violent or felony offenses like murder, assault, robbery and rape. The policy also now bans pursuits for misdemeanor offenses.
The policy changes follow months of outcry from community activists and Cuyahoga County Council members, who worried about liability issues stemming from the sheriff’s downtown patrol. Deputies had been initiating chases for minor traffic offenses…