Whether to pursue a suspect, and how to do so, is at the discretion of the officer responding, police say.

A man suspected of assaulting at least one woman and approaching two others led every available Cape Girardeau police officer on a low-speed chase Tuesday afternoon. At the conclusion of the chase, the man pointed a gun at an officer, who then struck him with his police cruiser. Once on the ground, the man, who police have yet to identify, shot himself in the head.

He remains in critical condition at Saint Francis Medical Center.

Vehicular pursuits in Cape Girardeau rarely happen, and when they do, officers exercise caution, police spokesman Darin Hickey said.

"The pursuing officer must consider the present danger, seriousness of the crime, the duration of the pursuit, traffic conditions, and the possibility of identifying the suspect at a later time when deciding whether to initiate or continue a vehicular pursuit," Hickey said.

Tuesday's pursuit was necessary, police spokesman Jason Selzer said shortly after the chase.

"It was very important" to catch him, Selzer said. "He already displayed a willingness to display a handgun and assault someone."

The department's policy is to apprehend all suspects who evade arrest. Ultimately, a pursuit is at an arresting officer's discretion.

"It must be remembered the anticipated results must justify the inherent risk," Hickey said. "The officer shall discontinue the pursuit when the risk outweighs the need for apprehension based on the circumstances at the time."

Chases that involve the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department are also infrequent, Sheriff John Jordan said. When they do occur, the pursuits are short-lived.

"Suspects sometimes think, ‘If I get around the curb, they won't catch me,' but when they see the lights, they normally pull over," Jordan said.

Jordan said he was unsure when the department's last pursuit occurred but that Illinois officials pursued a suspect in the county last month.

When Jordan was elected in 1994, the first policy he instituted pertained to pursuit protocol. A deputy involved in a pursuit must notify a supervisor, but the chase is still at the deputy's discretion.

"Officers have to have some leeway," Jordan said. "They're the person in the thick of it."

Roughly 360 people are killed each year in police chases nationwide, according to a 2010 study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. One police officer dies in a pursuit every six weeks, according to an FBI study.

On Tuesday, police were after a man suspected of dragging a woman into a wooded area off the Cape Lacroix Recreational Trail at gunpoint March 4. When a description of the man and his vehicle was released Tuesday morning, police were tipped off to his location at West End Apartments, 45 S. West End Blvd., where the man fled in his black Mazda truck. He led police to Dan's Key and Lock Shop, 1754 Independence St., where his tires were flattened by stop-sticks. After pointing a gun at an officer, he was struck by a police cruiser and shot himself in the head.

In the days following the pursuit, police began looking for additional victims. Two women told police that the man propositioned them for sexual acts before he confronted his final victim March 4. One woman said he approached her Feb. 29, while the other said he asked her for sexual favors just minutes before the March 4 attack.

Tuesday's pursuit also put three nearby schools on lockdown.

A school resource officer contacted Central Junior High, Cape Girardeau Middle School and Franklin Elementary after the chase began, Cape Girardeau School District superintendent Dr. Jim Welker said. Administrators at the schools announced on their public address systems that they would lock the buildings down and secured the buildings' doors.

Most exterior doors at schools in the district are always locked, Welker said.

School resource officers contact schools when police are involved in potentially dangerous incidents near schools. When in lockdown, students are required to stay in classrooms with teachers, Welker said. Lockdowns typically occur if police are pursuing suspects near a school or if there is an incident or a suspicious individual near a school.

Lockdowns at schools are infrequent, and Welker said he believed the last school lockdown occurred last school year when there was a bank robbery near a school. Welker said he could not remember which school was placed on lockdown.

"It doesn't happen a whole lot," Welker said.

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

215 N. Louisiana St., Cape Girardeau, MO

1900 Thilenius St., Cape Girardeau, MO

205 Caruthers St., Cape Girardeau, MO

1754 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO

45 S. West End Blvd., Cape Girardeau, MO