For years, high-speed pursuits by the Georgia State Patrol have been a staple of the local news in metro Atlanta and across Georgia. Reporters and editors at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wanted to understand why they happen so often and the impact they have on the public.
In late 2022, investigative reporter Asia Simone Burns began talking with police experts, reviewing annual GSP pursuit reports and talking with families whose lives had been impacted by these pursuits. She realized there was a deeper story that would require more reporting and analysis of an issue that posed risk to all Georgians. In 2023, data reporter Justin Price joined the project, and the team filed dozens of public records requests and analyzed data and records associated with thousands of GSP pursuits over an eight-year span. Because of limitations and inconsistencies in the GSP’s data, the reporters refined their analysis to the five-year period ending in 2023.
Reporters examined the data GSP provided to ensure every pursuit could be accounted for by first comparing the total number of pursuits in the data with GSP reports that summarize annual pursuit activity. The totals didn’t add up, so reporters submitted more records requests. By April of this year, the agency had provided a complete dataset.
The pursuit data served as a foundational reporting tool, because it enabled reporters to examine pursuits in detail that was previously inaccessible. For example, reporters could measure the number of bystanders or passengers hurt in pursuits initiated over traffic infractions, how often troopers decided to call off a chase to protect the public from undue harm and other questions that, until now, had never been answered about GSP’s record of pursuits.
It also revealed to reporters how often GSP pursuits happen, which turns out to be nearly every day. Further reporting helped reporters explain why — by reading the agency’s policy on pursuits, which gives troopers broad latitude to chase motorists in most circumstances. Reporters wondered whether the same was true for other states’ police agencies.
Reporters sought pursuit policies from comparable state police agencies across the country. They acquired 44 policies — a handful of states did not respond to requests or denied access, citing public records exemptions. That review of policies from around the country revealed that GSP has one of the most permissive pursuit policies in the nation, allowing troopers to engage in dangerous pursuits, even for minor traffic violations.
The reporters also analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau and determined that Georgia’s police pursuit fatality rate is the highest in the nation.
The AJC’s review also found that no other agency in Georgia is associated with as many fatal pursuits as the state patrol.
Last year, the AJC informed GSP leadership that we were examining the agency’s pursuit practices and we sought an interview; the request was denied, and no leaders or command staff members were made available to answer questions. Over several months, reporters have continued to ask GSP leaders for an interview, including Col. Billy Hitchens, who, as commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, oversees the patrol. The agency would only respond in writing. In recent weeks, Hitchens and the agency’s public information officer were given a full accounting of the AJC’s findings and written questions. A spokesman replied, saying the request had been received and a prompt response was in progress.
The AJC also provided a full accounting of the investigation’s findings to Gov. Brian Kemp’s office and sought an interview with the governor. The governor, through a spokesperson, declined.
The AJC’s reporting is the most comprehensive review of GSP pursuits by a news organization and provides a new understanding of why many GSP pursuits occur and the risk they pose to those on Georgia’s roadways. Stories in this series will explore various aspects of GSP pursuits and search for solutions that can help inform policymakers and the public.
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(This information box has been corrected to clarify the scope of the AJC’s analysis. GSP’s total of pursuit deaths was compared to other agencies in Georgia, not nationally.)
If you have tips about the GSP for our reporting team or would like to offer feedback on our investigation, reach out to the reporters at Asia.Burns@ajc.com or Justin.Price@ajc.com.
Our reporting team
Asia Simone Burns is an investigative reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Her coverage focuses on law enforcement and public safety. Before joining the AJC, she reported for NPR and Atlanta’s NPR member station, WABE. She is a graduate of Samford University and is a member of the Ida B. Wells Society and Investigative Reporters and Editors. She can be reached at Asia.Burns@ajc.com.
Justin Price is a reporter with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s data team, which means he spends his days crunching numbers and pushing up his eyeglasses. His reporting touches on many areas, from politics to police, and is always supported by the data. Price moved to Atlanta in 2023 from Phoenix, where he spent five years as an investigative reporter for the Arizona Republic. In his free time, Price enjoys climbing, as well as reading Octavia Butler and Frank Herbert. Justin has a degree in journalism and is pursuing his master’s degree in data science with an emphasis on geographic information systems. He can be reached at Justin.Price@ajc.com.
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