Emergency Vehicle Operation

Deputies are required to use lights & sirens appropriately when responding to calls or scenes. These standards are called "codes" and determine when to use certain equipment outfitted onto your patrol vehicle.

Code 1 - This is the standard operation of your vehicle: no lights and no sirens. This is when you are not responding to an emergency and can go from place to place in a timely manner while obeying all traffic laws.

Code 2 - This is when you are operating your vehicle with your lights on and your sirens off. Code 2 is preferred when you need to make other motorists yield to you in the interest of getting yourself to a scene/call on time. During Code 2, you may intermittently use your sirens when you need to maneuver in a way that breaks standard traffic code and/or when your lights fail to garner the attention of nearby motorists.

Code 3 - This is when you are operating your vehicle with lights and sirens on. Code 3 is used for emergencies where you need to get to where you're going as fast as humanly possible. This is typically in the case of violent crime, vehicle pursuits, panic buttons, LEO OnStar calls, or otherwise emergencies where every second counts.

Personnel Security
Anytime a deputy is inside a vehicle, they must have their seatbelt fastened securely to ensure the safety of all occupants.

Vehicle Security
Any time you are outside of your patrol vehicle, the doors must be locked. Supervisors may perform "lock checks" on deputies' vehicles to ensure compliance. Many criminals will attempt to steal our modified police cars in an attempt to make a quick getaway. This cannot be tolerated.

Intersection Clearing
Deputies are required to ensure safe passage through intersections by slowing down or even stopping to observe traffic flowing through the intersection they intend to pass through. This is not optional, even if the deputy is participating in a vehicle pursuit. Any deputy's failure to clear intersections can and will result in punitive action, assuming they survive.

Initiation &  Participation
Vehicle pursuits are extremely dangerous. They are referred to as: [3] 28 - Evading an Officer. There shall be a viable reason to initiate a pursuit.

During a pursuit, there shouldn't be more than 4 units attached to a non-violent pursuit. Supervisors may attach themselves to a pursuit even if there are 4 units unless a supervisor is already attached.

For pursuits involving violent crimes, any available unit may respond. Supervisors may limit the number of units engaged at their discretion.

Intervention & Termination
Once a pursuit has been initiated, a supervisor must approve of any intervention techniques before they're initiated, which includes but is not limited to:

• PIT Maneuvers

• Spike Strips

• Roadblocks

• Grappler Devices

• Box-Ins

• Bollard Deployment

The approval of a pursuit intervention technique comes with a PIT Timer which defaults to four minutes. This timer must have elapsed in order to perform a PIT Maneuver. Other methods of pursuit intervention do not require a PIT Timer.

PIT timers may only be waived by a Captain or higher.

Any supervisor reserves the right to fully terminate a pursuit that poses a danger to units or the general public. Non-supervisor primary units may cancel their own pursuit at their discretion. Any unit may cancel their participation in a pursuit at their discretion.

No deputy shall follow a suspect onto an active runway, meaning you must request the runway/airfield/designated landing zone to be shut down before entering.

Off-road Definition: Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding a vehicle on unsurfaced roads or tracks, made of materials such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain.

Deputies who are utilizing off-road capable vehicles will be allowed to off-road following these guidelines:

• Off-roading is only permitted in those situations where the terrain is not of a steep grade, is free of any cliffs, rocks, boulders, mountains, and dunes.

• Driving over any objects (tree trunks, logs etc.) which would potentially damage the vehicle is prohibited as well.

• Driving through any body of water is prohibited unless authorized by a specific subdivision SOP. The only exception is the 2019 Ford Raptor, as it has an elevated air intake and can pass through shallow waters without waterlogging the engine.

• All deputies must use proper judgement concerning the terrain on which they are traveling in order to preserve the safety of all involved parties. Deputies must use extreme caution when off-roading to avoid any animals or pedestrians.

• The destruction of any property is prohibited unless doing so is unavoidable in preventing serious injury, bodily harm, or death.

• At no time may deputies drive on railroad tracks. This does not include crossing over tracks that are embedded within marked roadways.