Press Releases from 2005

 


Released by: Bill Bird 
Senator Aanestad's Communications Director
June 1, 2005

EDITORS/PRODUCERS: AANESTAD ON TODAY's CTNS FEED
UPDATE ON LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES FOR HIGH-SPEED PURSUITS

SACRAMENTO—Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) will be featured on today's Capitol Television News Service (CTNS) feed, where he will discuss the latest developments surrounding high-speed pursuit policies involving California law enforcement. Senator Aanestad, is the author of "Kristie's Law."

Under the Senator's "Kristie's Law" legislation, pursuits would not be permitted for misdemeanor offenses such as seatbelt violations or an expired registration. Kristie's Law would have allowed law enforcement agencies to initiate pursuits when innocent lives were in danger, or if a serious felony had been committed.

Kristie's Law, or SB 718, was voted down in the Senate Public Safety Committee last April. The Senator plans to reintroduce the measure again next year.

Kristie's Law is named in honor of Kristie Priano, a 15-year-old honor student who was killed during a police pursuit in January 2002. The driver who struck and killed Kristie was a 15-year-old teenager who was already known to police.


Released by: Bill Bird 
Senator Aanestad's Communications Director
April 26, 2005


Released by: Bill Bird 
Senator Aanestad's Communications Director
March 2, 2005

Aanestad-Romero Bill Will Limit Dangerous Police Chases

News Conference Monday on, SB 718, “Kristie’s Law”

SACRAMENTO: Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) and Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) will hold a joint news conference this Monday, March 7th to reveal plans for legislation that would save innocent lives that are lost during high-speed chases involving law enforcement agencies in California. The news conference on “Kristie’s Law” will take place MONDAY, March 7th. It will be held in Room 1190 of the State Capitol at 11:00 AM.

“It is our responsibility, as State Legislators, to protect California citizens from tragic circumstances that are within our control,” said Senator Aanestad. “The innocent bystander who is hurt or killed from a high-speed police chase is nothing less than the most vulnerable innocent victim not, ‘collateral damage.’”

SB 718 is named in honor of Kristie Priano, a 15-year old Chico honor student who was killed during a police pursuit in January 2002. The driver that struck and killed Priano was a 15-year old teenager who was already known to police. Senator Aanestad and Senator Romero are convinced that “Kristie’s Law” will save innocent lives. California far and away leads the nation in the number of deaths caused by high-speed law-enforcement pursuits.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show 51 Californians were killed during high-speed police pursuits in 2001 — an average of nearly one per week. Nearly half of the deaths were innocent bystanders or drivers of other vehicles that were not involved as a suspect or officer in the pursuit. NHTSA statistics from the same year show California ranked first in deaths from pursuits by a wide margin, close to the combined totals of New York, New Jersey, Michigan and Florida.

Senator Aanestad stressed that the tragedy surrounding the loss of innocent lives has not stemmed since he introduced a similar bill last year. The joint legislative effort from Senator Aanestad and Senator Romero will rely heavily on input from law enforcement leaders, national experts and families of innocent victims who have died from accidents involving high-speed pursuits.

The Senate Public Safety Committee will hold an informational hearing on “Kristie’s Law” on March 9th. The hearing is designed to gather input from all interested parties, which will be used to craft the actual wording of “Kristie’s Law.”

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