South Carolina S 8: Vehicular Pursuit

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 8 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 8

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
23-23-170 SO AS TO PROVIDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING COUNCIL 
SHALL ESTABLISH POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND TRAINING COURSES RELATING TO CIRCUMSTANCES 
UPON WHICH A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER MAY ENGAGE IN VEHICULAR PURSUITS.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Chapter 23, Title 23 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 23-23-170. (A) The South Carolina Law Enforcement 
Training Council shall establish policies, procedures, and training courses 
that provide a law enforcement officer may not engage in a vehicular pursuit, 
unless:

 (1) 
there is probable cause to believe that a person in the vehicle has committed 
or is committing a violent crime or sex offense, or an escape from a detention 
or correctional facility;

 (2) 
there is reasonable suspicion a person in the vehicle has committed or is 
committing a driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or another illegal 
substance offense;

 (3) 
the pursuit is necessary for the purpose of identifying or apprehending a 
person; or

 (4) 
the driver poses an imminent threat to the safety of others and the safety 
risks of failing to apprehend or identify the driver are considered to be 
greater than the safety risks of the vehicular pursuit under the circumstances; 
and

 (5) 
except as provided in subsection (B), the officer has received authorization to 
engage in the pursuit from a supervising officer and there is supervisory 
control of the pursuit. The officer in consultation with the supervising 
officer must consider alternatives to the vehicular pursuit. The supervisor 
must consider the justification for the vehicular pursuit and other safety 
considerations including, but not limited to speed, weather, traffic, road 
conditions, and the known presence of minors in the vehicle, and the vehicular 
pursuit must be terminated if any of the requirements of this subsection are 
not met.

 (B) 
For jurisdictions with fewer than ten commissioned officers, if a supervisor is 
not on duty at the time, then the officer must request the on-call supervisor 
be notified of the pursuit according to the law enforcement agency's 
procedures. The officer must consider alternatives to the vehicular pursuit, 
the justification for the vehicular pursuit, and other safety considerations 
including, but not limited to speed, weather, traffic, road conditions, and the 
known presence of minors in the vehicle. The officer must terminate the 
vehicular pursuit if any of the requirements of this subsection are not met.

 (C) A 
pursuing officer shall comply with any agency procedures for designating the 
primary pursuit vehicle and determining the appropriate number of vehicles 
permitted to participate in the vehicular pursuit and comply with any agency 
procedures for coordinating operations with other jurisdictions, including 
available tribal police departments when applicable.

 (D) A 
law enforcement officer may not fire a weapon upon a moving vehicle unless 
necessary to protect against an imminent threat of serious physical harm 
resulting from the operator's or a passenger's use of a deadly weapon. For the 
purposes of this subsection, a vehicle is not considered a deadly weapon unless 
the operator is using the vehicle as a deadly weapon and no other reasonable 
means to avoid potential serious harm are immediately available to the officer.

 (E) 
For purposes of this section, "vehicular pursuit" means an attempt by a 
uniformed law enforcement officer in a vehicle equipped with emergency lights 
and a siren to stop a moving vehicle where the operator of the moving vehicle 
appears to be aware that the officer is signaling the operator to stop the 
vehicle and the operator of the moving vehicle appears to be wilfully resisting 
or ignoring the officer's attempt to stop the vehicle by increasing vehicle 
speed, making evasive maneuvers, or operating the vehicle in a reckless manner 
that endangers the safety of the community or the officer.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on December 11, 2024 at 04:14 PM