Can SC police legally keep chasing you over state lines? Here’s what the law says

Let’s just say you end up being in a car chase with police.

Unlikely, perhaps, but if you’re anywhere near the state line with Georgia or North Carolina, you might be tempted to hightail it to avoid capture.

Don’t bother. Law enforcement can just keep on chasing you, state law says.

Same for officers from those states coming into South Carolina. If they make an arrest they must immediately take the suspect to a South Carolina judicial official.

And similarly a local officer can zoom on into another jurisdiction to capture a suspect. There are limits on that, including it must be in an adjacent county or within 3 miles of the city the officer is from.

There are no uniform policies or laws regulating police pursuits from state to state or even from the various jurisdictions in South Carolina.

A 2003 report from the Police Executive Research Forum by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services suggested that police pursuits should be rare and initiated only if the person is suspected of a violent felony.

The report said the danger to suspects, police and innocent bystanders often outweighs the benefit of arresting someone.

The study came after a marked increase in deaths during a police pursuit, especially of innocent bystanders.

The study said alternatives to pursuits include stop sticks, helicopter surveillance and GPS devices that can be deployed from a patrol car.

The study reported the policies of a number of agencies including the Charleston Police Department, which says chases are allowed, “When an officer has reasonable grounds to believe the suspect has committed, or is attempting to commit, one of the following felonies or misdemeanors of a violent nature towards a person: a murder; manslaughter, rape or other felonious sex offense; kidnapping, robbery; aggravated assault; a crime which involves the use of a firearm or explosive device, even if such crime is classified as a misdemeanor; the occupants are armed and dangerous.”

Richland County’s policy notes the sanctity of life is valued and pursuits should be prevented or ended as soon as possible.

“A lot of this has to do with the new thinking in policing today, which is about proportionality,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of Police Executive Research Forum. “It’s about the sanctity of life and balancing the risk to everyone. Police officers die in pursuits. Suspects die in pursuits and even citizens can be injured or die.”

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data shows in 2020 pursuits totaled 455, the highest since at least 2007 when there were 372 fatalities.