The deaths of two teenage girls in New Orleans after a fleeing suspect crashed into them has raised the question, "can law enforcement pursue felony suspects without endangering bystanders?"
"Look, I wish I had an answer for it," said Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto. Sheriff said maybe a start would be to increase the penalties for people who flee from law enforcement, especially if cops think it's a case that warrants a pursuit.
"If you run from the police, I kind of agree with it, in any type of offense, if we make that determination, you should be spending a significant amount of time in jail," said Lopinto.
Lopinto said the problem is that it is hard to change criminals' way of thinking, but he suggested people who think running from the cops is a viable option should be subject to more time behind bars if they lead police on a chase.
"The reality of it is, you only have a small amount of our population that thinks this way, right? But that small amount of population needs to suffer consequences for it," the sheriff said.
