Pinellas County Sheriff's Office deputies face tighter pursuit rules than Florida Highway Patrol troopers on the same roads. Sheriff’s office policy generally requires a forcible felony and an immediate threat to the public, with limited exceptions; Highway Patrol policy allows a chase when a person is actively fleeing or eluding an officer or has committed a forcible felony, subject to a risk assessment.

That gap, detailed in a statewide survey published Nov. 2 by the Tampa Bay Times, means two officers on the same stretch of US-19 in Palm Harbor or Dunedin could face the same fleeing driver and operate under very different rules about what happens next.

Reporters Brittany Wallman and Sofia Saric surveyed pursuit policies from a dozen of the largest law enforcement agencies in Florida. The Times report found the Highway Patrol's policy more permissive than those of the other agencies surveyed in several areas, including pursuits and PIT maneuvers.

What Pinellas deputies can and cannot do

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) requires that a suspect have committed a forcible felony and pose an "imminent and/or continuous threat" before a deputy may give chase, according to the Times survey. In some "exceptional and rare" cases, a suspect's "extremely dangerous driving" can also justify a pursuit.

Deputies cannot chase over property crimes, stolen cars or nonviolent offenses. PIT maneuvers, in which a pursuing officer turns sharply into a fleeing car's rear panel to force a spin, are allowed. But if the speed exceeds 50 mph, the PCSO classifies the maneuver as deadly force. Deputies are told not to perform a PIT on SUVs, vans or pickups. The policy warns deputies in all capital letters not to drive the wrong way to chase someone.

The PCSO also prohibits deputies from calling in the Highway Patrol when a pursuit would not be authorized under the sheriff's own rules. Spokesperson Jessica Mackesy told the Tampa Bay Times in November 2025 coverage that the reason is "because we do not feel pursuits should occur by any agency under circumstances that do not meet our policy, and we will not provide information that could lead to such a pursuit occurring and thereby circumventing our policy."

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri tightened the pursuit policy in 2014, citing an uptick in pursuits and the need to ensure deputies were chasing suspects only in what the Tampa Bay Times described as "life-and-death situations."

How FHP rules differ

The Highway Patrol's policy manual, last revised in March 2024, allows a pursuit when a suspect is actively fleeing or eluding an officer or has previously committed a forcible felony, subject to a risk assessment. The manual calls the PIT maneuver FHP's primary technique and directs troopers to consider the conditions and speed; it warns that greater speed increases the risk of injury or death. FHP classifies the PIT as "a use of control," not deadly force. Ramming is authorized when a PIT fails. The manual permits troopers to drive against traffic or on the wrong side of the road to immobilize an immediate threat to the public.

The Tampa Bay Times reported in November 2025 that FHP loosened its pursuit restrictions in 2023 under the direction of Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Dave Kerner. Before that change, troopers needed supervisor approval to start a chase and to perform a PIT.

FHP troopers have jurisdiction on virtually every road in the state, including local streets in dense areas, according to the Times.

Rising pursuit deaths

State trooper chases that resulted in deaths rose after the policy was loosened, according to an examination by Treasure Coast newspapers cited in the November 2025 Times coverage. That examination, using agency data, showed one pursuit-related death in 2022, five in 2023 and 15 in 2024.

Nationally, at least 3,336 people were killed in police pursuits from 2017 through 2022, according to a 2024 San Francisco Chronicle investigation cited by the Times. Most of those chases began over traffic offenses, nonviolent crimes or no crime at all.

Residents who witness a crime or a dangerous driver can contact the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at 727-582-6200 or call 911 in an emergency.