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Innocent victims pursuing justice
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Carefully measured observations
tell the tragedy of police chases
Mark and Candy Priano do something they never dreamed possible or necessary: They give a presentation entitled, "Our Families Deserve Safer & Smarter Police
Pursuits." The Prianos have learned about the good and
bad of police vehicular pursuits in the worse possible way -- through the unnecessary death of their innocent daughter, Kristie. Now, nearing the four-year mark of Kristie's death, they are still searching for the "Why?" Why is this dangerous police tactic so widely
accepted as keeping the public safe?
They find themselves in a situation that requires great tact as they attempt to expose the many myths about police pursuits:
"If officers do not chase, everyone will flee,"
"If someone flees, there must be a dead body in the trunk,"
and
the worse thing a victim hears after burying a loved one:
"If we hadn't chased, the suspect might have gone on to kill someone else,"
thus negating that an innocent "someone else" did get killed.
While the title of their presentation remains the same, the content changes depending on who is in the audience. The Prianos have spoken to officers, criminal justice students, college leadership classes, civic leaders and citizen groups. They have prepared and presented hours of research for California Senate and Informational Hearings. These presentations increase awareness of the
lasting effects of police pursuits that kill, injure and maim innocent bystanders: victims who all too often are just summarily dismissed as collateral damage.
The Prianos modify the length of their presentation for the audience, but any presentation needs to be at least one hour and that allows only 15 minutes for discussion. The best length is two hours with a 15-minute break midway through the presentation. If the presentation is for non-officers, 90 minutes is usually sufficient. If the Prianos are presenting to officers, they recommend the two-hour program to allow more time for Q&A and discussion. During each presentation, they show 23 minutes of a 55-minute DVD entitled, "Kristie's Law: Pursuing Justice." Law enforcement chiefs, sheriffs and trainers from around the world have requested the DVD and have written the Prianos to let them know that segments from the DVD are used in their training classrooms.
Both Mark and Candy are graduates of Valparaiso
University in Indiana. Mark received a Business degree and Candy
received a Mass Communications degree. Mark spends a good part of
his career speaking in front of large groups and serves as an announcer
for several high school functions. Candy promotes legislation for
safer and smarter police pursuits and maintains the kristieslaw.org web
site.
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the Prianos for Speaking Engagements
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Presentations
Spirit of a Woman Conference, California State University, Chico, March 29, 2007 (Candy Priano)
California statewide meeting for Officer Driving Instructors, POST-approved, Burlingame, CA, Oct. 11, 2005
Senate Hearings 2004 and 2005
Street Officers from Sunnyvale, California, Public Safety Department, March 2004
Sociology Class, California State University, Chico, 2004
Leadership Class, California State University, Chico, 2003, 2004
Forest Ranch Homeowners Assn, 2003
Citizens of Stockton, September 17, 2003
Chico's Internal Affairs Committee, September 2003
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Presentation Fees
In lieu of a fee, the sponsor will make a monetary donation to Kristie's Nature Lab. This "fee" will be determined when information about the presentation is established.
The Prianos require reimbursement for travel expenses, hotel and meals (three meals within a 24-hour period). If the presentation is before 1 p.m., it is preferred that the sponsor book and reserve a hotel room for the night before their presentation.
If your group is within 30-minutes, round-trip, of Chico, there are no travel expenses.
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Something to think about
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Which scenario
is safer? An unlicensed driver on the road? An unlicensed
driver on the road fleeing police, now driving recklessly and at a high rate of
speed?
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Which is more
valuable? A stolen vehicle? A human life?
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What makes
sense? A pursuit law that puts Public Safety First.
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TOP
Have questions or comments about this web site?
Send mail to kristies-law@sbcglobal.net
Copyright 2005
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