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A recent chase through Portland ended in a fatal police shooting at the Casco Bay Lines terminal after officers had pursued a man in a stolen vehicle along Congress Street and onto Franklin Street.

The highly visible chase caught the attention of people all over the city who posted about seeing 10 or more police cars zip through downtown.

Chases like this don’t happen often in Portland. City policy says Portland police need to keep safety in mind before deciding to start a pursuit.

Officers must evaluate several factors, including road and weather conditions, population density, how well they know the area, and whether the pursuit may endanger other drivers.

Nationwide, hundreds of deaths occur during police chases every year, according to reporting by the Associated Press. Law experts in response have called for police not to start a pursuit unless a violent crime has been committed and a suspect poses an imminent threat, according to a 2023 report by the Police Executive Research Forum.

Here’s what you should know about the department’s guidelines.

In Portland, officers are only allowed to start a pursuit when there is probable cause that the driver has committed, is in the process of committing, or has threatened to commit a violent felony.

They may also start a pursuit if “there exists an ongoing threat to an apparently innocent passenger in the vehicle that outweighs the risk of a pursuit,” according to the police department’s standard operating procedure.

Only sworn officers in marked vehicles with lights and a siren can engage in police chases, according to the policy. Uniformed officers in unmarked vehicles may initiate pursuits “but must immediately terminate involvement” when they are relieved by an officer in a fully marked cruiser.

Police must immediately notify dispatchers when a chase begins, and a supervisor will assign a backup officer to assist in the pursuit.

Only two units can be engaged in the pursuit at a time: one primary officer and a second, backup officer. The backup officer is required to stay far enough behind the primary unit to avoid a crash.

The supervisor can also assign support units to the pursuit. City policy states that those officers aren’t actively involved in the pursuit, but they respond to the area “to warn motorists” and assist when the pursuit ends.

If the pursuit leaves the city of Portland, officers will decide whether to continue or terminate the pursuit. If they continue pursuing the vehicle, a supervisor will ask the law enforcement agency that oversees the other community to take over the pursuit.

If outside agencies are pursuing a vehicle within the Portland Police Department’s jurisdiction and they are violating city policies, the shift commander must request that the other agencies end their pursuit.

This nearly happened in April 2025, when several police vehicles from other agencies pursued a stolen van through Portland. No Portland officers were involved in that chase. Portland police said at the time that the shift commander was “in the process” of requesting that the agencies end their pursuit, but that he did not make the request when he learned that the driver of the vehicle had intentionally hit police vehicles and almost hit an officer.

During a pursuit, city policy states that Portland officers are also prohibited from ramming the vehicle being pursued — “unless the circumstances justify the use of deadly force.”

Officers can only use stationary roadblocks under certain circumstances: if the shift commander approves the use and “only for the purpose of deploying a department issued tire-deflating device.” These devices can’t be used to stop motorcycles, vehicles carrying hazardous materials, or vehicles like buses and taxis that may have passengers onboard.