MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fleeing from police has consequences, and sometimes they are deadly.
Using the Tennessee Open Records Act, WREG requested data on how often Memphis Police give chase, and what happens as a result.MPD sent us several Vehicle Pursuit Summaries from 2022 through 2024. These are the annual reports compiled by the department, showing how many times police gave pursuit.
- In 2022, MPD had 114 pursuit reports. They tell us 96 pursuits ended in crashes that year. One of them was fatal.
- In 2023, pursuits increased to 166. Crashes remained the same at 96, with four fatalities.
- And in 2024, there were 180 chases with a total of 83 crashes and 3 fatalities.
- So far in 2025, MPD says there have been 42 pursuits with no fatalities.
Beyond the wrecked cars and damaged property, there are lives to consider.
Family distraught after 3 killed in chase, crash in Hickory Hill
In August of 2024, three women were killed after police pursued a car that failed to pull over in Parkway Village. Police later spotted the vehicle in Hickory Hill. The 16-year-old driver still refused to stop, ran a light and caused a five-car crash.Two female victims were pronounced deceased on scene. A female was transported from the scene to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Some say the risk is not worth it.“They got to find another tactic because that is putting a lot of people in danger,” business owner Carlos Williams said.
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