Civilians shouldn't pursue suspects: Ottawa police

Ottawa police Chief Vern White has ordered communications staff to stop encouraging members of the public to follow or chase people they suspect have committed a crime.

The directive comes after police learned that in late July a 911 operator had encouraged a member of the public to follow a suspect.

The incident happened after a woman reported an armed robbery at a drug store on Alta Vista Drive. Police said the operator asked the woman to follow the suspect at a safe distance.

Itis the secondcase to emergein recent days in which a member of the public was encouraged to pursue a suspect by 911 operators in the Ottawa region. Last Friday, Ryan O'Connor and Matt Spezza, the brother of Ottawa Senators player Jason Spezza, followed a suspect while they were on the phone with a 911 operator. News of that chase prompted the police to launch a review of dispatching policies.

PoliceSupt. Lynda Gibson told CBC News that the pursuit in July didn't reach high speeds, and that there's no reason to believe the people who followed the suspects were ever in danger. But she added that police don't want to see an incident like that happen again.

"As a police organization, we certainly don't condone members of the public and members of our community putting themselves at risk or in potential danger in assisting us," Gibson said.

She said people who witness a crime should call police from a safe location and give them as much detail as possible. "Under no circumstances should people be putting themselves at risk in doing this," Gibson said.