U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s liberal use of high-speed chases has led to a high rate of injury and death, a ProPublica and Los Angeles Times investigation found. The agency gives its agents wide latitude to use high-speed chases to catch people trying to enter the country illegally, a practice that has resulted in 250 people injured and 22 deaths in the last four years alone. Many modern police departments have moved away from the dangerous strategy, but CPB still allows agents to initiate chases even after they have noted the cars are carrying unrestrained children or are packed far beyond capacity. During pursuit, agents box in moving vehicles, puncture tires and employ tactics intended to spin cars off the road, according to the report. On average, chases end in crashes every nine days. Since Trump became president, the number of people injured in pursuit crashes has increased by 42 percent.
