Pursuit began on Western Avenue
The pursuit started on Western Avenue and continued to the vicinity of Southeast 15th Street and High Avenue, police told KOCO 5. The driver left the van and ran.
Authorities have not released a description or other information about the person they are seeking.
City rules restrict vehicle pursuits
Oklahoma City tightened its police pursuit policy in June 2022. For chases involving traffic offenses or property crimes, the rules require officers to stop pursuing under several conditions, including when GPS tracking of the vehicle is available.
The policy also limits how far officers may exceed posted speeds: no more than 15 mph above the limit on city streets or 25 mph above it on highways without "strong justification," such as an imminent threat to life or officer distress. Additional prohibitions cover entering active school or construction zones, approaching adverse road conditions or pedestrian traffic, knowing the violator's identity, and situations in which the suspect's driving endangers the public.
A Tulsa World and Lee Enterprises investigation cited department data showing an annual average of 243 pursuits in the two years after the policy change, compared with 334 in the preceding four years. Officers discontinued about 45% of pursuits after the change, up from about 36% before it.
Statewide deaths and a legislative proposal
The Tulsa World and Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism investigation ranked Oklahoma eighth nationally for pursuit-related deaths. From 2016 through 2022, 68 fatal police chases in the state left 79 people dead.
About a quarter of those killed were innocent motorists. People other than the fleeing driver accounted for about two in five deaths. Oklahoma City police were involved in 12 of the fatal pursuits; only the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was involved in more.
At the state level, Rep. Ajay Pittman introduced House Bill 2925 during the 2025 legislative session. The proposal would require written high-speed pursuit policies at every state, county, and local law enforcement agency, along with supervisory approval before officers begin a pursuit.
The bill would also prohibit agencies from authorizing a high-speed pursuit without probable cause to believe the person committed a specified violent offense, such as murder, aggravated assault and battery, kidnapping, rape, or armed robbery. The introduced version proposed a November 1, 2025, effective date. The text reviewed was that initial proposal, not an enacted law.
