page 2
daily nebraskan
tuesday, january 13, 1981
DeCamp proposes rules, bullets for police chases
By Patti Gallagher
Termed either a deterrent to the
"Dukes of Hazzard syndrome" or a "Clint
Eastwood weaponry" bill, legislation
addressing the problem of high-speed
police chases was introduced Friday in the
Nebraska Legislature.
Bill sponsor Sen. John DeCamp of
Neligh said Monday that LB76 has four
major points. They include:
-changing the offense of fleeing from
police from a misdemeanor to a felony.
DeCamp said court records indicate a
"Dukes of Hazzard" type of attitude pre
vails among the youth of Nebraska, and
many are involved in chases. He also said
that evidence shows punishment is mini
mal when they are caught.
-two additional techniques to aid
police in a chase include installation of a
computer system to make vehicle identi
fication immediately available to police.
DeCamp also suggested equipping police
with armor-piercing steel bullets which can
penetrate the engine block of a fleeing
automobile.
Armor-piercing bullets
The armor-piercing bullets could be
used in existing weapons, and would render
the fleeing automobile inoperable, without
risking injury to the driver, according to
DeCamp.
-allowing the court to seize a vehicle
used in fleeing the police, and to sell the
vehicle at a public auction. DeCamp said
this technique has been successful in other
Rec Center . . .
Continued from Page I
Becky Stingley, chairperson of the
ASl'N Commission on Student Fees, con
firmed that Steller's office had not yet re
ceived copies of the report.
She said her commission had been
doing a great deal of work in looking for
student support for the proposed center.
Dr. Richard Armstrong, vice chancel
lor for student affairs, "has told Mr.
Steller that he can't proceed with the rec
center plans unless and until there is
student support for the project," Sting
ley said.
"The commission lias been looking
into this to see if there is support,"
she said. The survey would show that
there is support among the students,
Stingley said.
"We think the survey results can be
used to remove the catch-22 Dr. Arm
strong has placed on Mr. Steller so he
can proceed with his plans."
Stingley added that during semester
break she had checked into various
sources of funding for the center, includ
ing outside foundations such as the Ford
foundation.
Flood harms residence halls
Almost $1,000 in personal property was
reported damaged in Pound Hall after
someone flooded Gather and Pound resi
dence halls by turning on utility faucets in
two bathrooms Monday morning.
Ron Lundy of the UNL Police Depart
ment said reports of damage have not been
completed, but damage to UNL property
would run "well over $1,000."
Bob Fey of the UNL Police Depart
ment said the fourth through 11th floors
in Pound Hall were damaged after a faucet
in an 1 Ith-floor restroom was left running.
A third-floor bathroom in Cather Hall
was flooded, as were parts of the first and
second floors, he said.
Lundy said that any students wishing to
report personal property damage as a result
of the flood should contact the UNL
police.
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areas of the law and would be an effective
deterrent to young would-be fleers who
have bought their own cars.
-requiring an educational program
whereby all drivers would be informed be
fore obtaining a drivers license of the con
sequences of attempting to flee police.
Passage of the bill would make some kind
of program mandatory when testing for a
license.
DeCamp also said his bill proposes that
police have a specific and uniform pro
cedure for chase situations. He said if the
bill passes, formal rules would be set to
determine when a chase would be initiated
and concluded.
The bill is the "exact opposite" of a bill
to be introduced by Omaha Sen. Frnie
Chambers, according to DeCamp.
Chambers' approach to the high-speed
chase problem is to let anybody flee or
runaway from the police and then allow
the police to do nothing, he said. His
approach is to give the police all the tools
necessary to make it unprofitable to flee
from police, he said.
Chambers Monday said the DeCamp bill
is very unrealistic. He termed the suggest
ion of using armor-piercing bullets as
"Clint Fastwood weaponry," and said "one
miss of a bullet could kill everybody in the
town."
Chambers is currently working on a bill
to counter DeCamp's. He said it will be
finished within a few days, and introduced
shortly thereafter.
The content of Chambers' bill includes
guidelines for pursuits, the kinds of actions
prohibited by law officers in the course of
a chase, and a plan for compensating any
third parties injured.
Two prohibitions specified by Chamb
ers include not allowing a pursued car to be
chased off the road or be blocked in by a
third vehicle.
Chambers said that although he has
offered legislation on the police chase issue
since he was elected in i 970, this year's bill
has been prompted in part by two high
speed chases in Nebraska, one of which re
sulted in a death.
According to an aide, DeCamp is con
sidering deleting the proposal for the
armor-piercing bullets. The aide said
DeCamp think the bill would have a better
chance of passing without the bullet pro
posal. The aide also said DeCamp has not yet
specified what kind of educational pro
gram would be required to obtain a drivers
license. He said DeCamp will propose a
program before the final draft of the bill.
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Photo by Mark Billingsley
Making time
Steve Mackie hurries to his first class Monday, as second semester begins at
UNL.
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