Officer suspended for using banned move

AUSTIN (KXAN) - AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) -- A police officer was suspended for using a tactical move in a car chase the police department banned more than a decade ago. The Austin Police Association is backing him, however, saying the department is sending a dangerous message to its officers.

Sgt. Keith Stoddard, a 20-year veteran, was suspended for three days without pay after using the PIT maneuver to stop a fleeing suspect along East Oltorf Street in December. The move involves bumping a fleeing vehicle in an attempt to cause it to spin out and stall. Video from police Sgt. Keith Stoddard's dashboard camera shows a suspect fleeing in his car. Police said he was driving under the influence of alcohol and has already been in an accident.

The suspect sends Stoddard on a chase, passing traffic and running stop signs and stoplights. Then, the car slows down, and Stoddard attempts to stop him. "I'm taking him out," he said in the video.

The second time he uses the PIT maneuver, he is successful. "The PIT maneuver was banned here at the Austin Police Department about 15 years ago," said Asst. Chief Leo Enriquez. Stoddard had been trained on carrying out the PIT maneuver.

Other police departments use the move, but APD does not allow ramming or colliding with fleeing suspects unless deadly force is justified. "The reason we banned it was because No. 1 people were getting hurt," Enriquez said. APD said after reviewing the incident, Stoddard was clearly not authorized to use the move. Enriquez said Stoddard admitted it was out of line.

Yet George Vanderhule, president of the Austin Police Association, is not so sure. "What concerns me is if the individual who had DWI already had been involved in a collision and was fleeing the scene continued to pose a threat to people on the roadway," Vanderhule said. Vanderhule said the move by the police department could send the wrong message to officers.

"If it's a case where an officer's actions were blatantly wrong, other officers learn from that, but when it is questionable, like in this case, other officers start second guessing what they ought to do in a situation," Vanderhule said. Meanwhile, APD it wants to send the message to officers that they will be held accountable.