Public Safety · Pasco County
Florida Trooper Pursuit Policy Linked to 34 Deaths Since Dec. 2023
A Miami Herald investigation found that Florida Highway Patrol pursuits killed at least 34 people, including five teenagers and nearly one-third innocent bystanders, in the nearly three years since FHP loosened its chase policy in December 2023. Deaths rose from seven in the prior three-year period to 17 in 2024 alone as pursuits and PIT maneuvers more than tripled. Brody Swain, 15, of New Port Richey was killed July 26 when a trooper used a PIT maneuver on the car he rode in as a learner's-permit driver fled.