MPD chases, crashes and fatalities: By the numbers
by: April Thompson
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fleeing from police has consequences, and sometimes they are deadly.
Using the Tennessee Open Records Act, WREG requested data on how often Memphis Police give chase, and what happens as a result.
MPD sent us several Vehicle Pursuit Summaries from 2022 through 2024. These are the annual reports compiled by the department, showing how many times police gave pursuit.
- In 2022, MPD had 114 pursuit reports. They tell us 96 pursuits ended in crashes that year. One of them was fatal.
- In 2023, pursuits increased to 166. Crashes remained the same at 96, with four fatalities.
- And in 2024, there were 180 chases with a total of 83 crashes and 3 fatalities.
- So far in 2025, MPD says there have been 42 pursuits with no fatalities.
Beyond the wrecked cars and damaged property, there are lives to consider.
In August of 2024, three women were killed after police pursued a car that failed to pull over in Parkway Village. Police later spotted the vehicle in Hickory Hill. The 16-year-old driver still refused to stop, ran a light and caused a five-car crash.
Two female victims were pronounced deceased on scene. A female was transported from the scene to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Some say the risk is not worth it.
“They got to find another tactic because that is putting a lot of people in danger,” business owner Carlos Williams said.
Police say they are working on improving training for officers and making sure they adhere to policies when pursuing a suspect.
Last year, they said 29 pursuits were terminated by supervisors. Only 33% ended in the suspect crashing, compared to 38% in 2023.
“It’s a necessity. You can’t just stop and let them get away. They gotta do their jobs,” said Hickory Hill resident Arthur Westbrook.
But police are working on making sure officers complete their pursuit reports to get a more accurate account, and ensure they are adhering to policies like not pursuing misdemeanor offenses.
Those numbers are going down.
In 2022, 18% of pursuits were initiated for misdemeanor offenses. In 2023, it was down to 11%.
And in 2024, it was 10%.
“There needs to be a discretion on if people’s lives are more vulnerable at this time. They gotta make that call,” Westbrook said.
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