Pawnee County Sheriff's Office Trains Deputies For Safe Pursuit Practices

The Pawnee County Sheriff’s Office is working to make sure its deputies use safe practices when involved in a pursuit. This training comes just 24 hours after their crews assisted Sand Springs police in a high-speed chase.

Pawnee County deputies helped OHP and Sand Springs with that chase that reached 90 miles per hour at times. The sheriff said that was unsafe and too fast.

“I think it serves as a wakeup call for the guys to slow down, pay attention, make sure to arrive where they’re going,” Varnell said.

The chase ended when an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper performed a TVI maneuver, a tactic only troopers typically perform.

“We’re trained to do that as quickly as possible, we don’t like these pursuits to go very long,” Trooper Eric Foster said.

Sheriff Darrin Varnell said his deputies did what they were told, but in the future he wants to see lower speeds and more cautious driving.

Tuesday the deputies went through a training lead by retired Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel to emphasize safety while in a pursuit.

“Oftentimes law enforcement officers drive too fast, take too many risks, and the risk they take is with their own lives and lives of the public,” Whetsel said.

He said the deputies need to decide what their life is worth when chasing a suspect or heading to a call.

“They need to be able to retire at the end of their career not be carried out during their career,” Whetsel said.

Sheriff Varnell said their agency will continue to keep safety in mind for both themselves and the public as they move forward.

Whetsel said his wife and daughter were killed by an officer going too fast in a pursuit years ago, and he wants to make sure that doesn't happen to anyone else.