MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) – In two days, three people have died after police pursuits in Milwaukee, having activists call for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to revisit their pursuit policy.

CBS 58 reported on the crashes this week:

• A passenger in a vehicle was killed in a crash near 30th and Center on Monday, Oct. 19. MPD says the vehicle involved was connected to a long-term drug investigation.
• A driver was killed in a crash near 27th and Highland
• A passenger died and a driver was hurt in a crash following a pursuit involving Germantown police that ended near 46th and Fairmount
  CBS 58
   

“The police officers are doing their job,” Alexander Ayala, the president of the Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) said Wednesday. “They’re chasing somebody that chose not to pull over for the police, and they are the ones that are causing the fatalities on the roads, not the police department.”

According to an emailed statement from MPD, as the pursuit policy reflects, "The decision to initiate a pursuit must be based on the pursuing officer’s conclusion that the immediate danger to the officer and the public created by the pursuit is less than the immediate or potential danger to the public should the suspect remain at large."

The department updated its pursuit policy this year to say speed alone is not enough to initiate a chase.

“The policies are working, you are definitely seeing a lot less fatalities, police chases, unlike last year,” Ayala said.

Despite those changes, activists like Arthur Bollis with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression say more needs to be done to prevent deaths in these chases.

“This is just a result of MPD’s policy,” Bollis said. “It’s up to the officer instead of having more concrete policies in place. Why do they think Milwaukee deserves this kind of policy and is it okay to have this number of deaths?”

In the statement from MPD, a spokesperson said the department understands that police pursuits present significant challenges due to the physical, emotional, and financial impact on officers, the public, and fleeing suspects.

“We recognize there are complexities are committed to ensuring our training, policies, and risk mitigation strategies are the most appropriate for the community that we serve and in consideration of national best practices,” the statement read. “In accordance with department policy, all department-initiated vehicle pursuits are documented. These reports are subject to internal review to include the members' commanding officer after which the report is forwarded to the Internal Affairs Division (IAD) for final evaluation to determine whether the incident was in compliance with department policy.”

CBS 58 reached out to the Germantown police department about what led to the traffic stop that eventually led to the pursuit at 27th & Highland. A lieutenant directed CBS 58 to their policy available online.

Additionally, a bystander was seriously injured in a crash near 35th and Hadley on Saturday night. MPD says before a pursuit could begin, the vehicle involved drove away from officers. That vehicle ultimately stuck another vehicle which spun out of control and hit two pedestrians one of which suffered significant injuries to their lower body.