Dallas police suspend bait car program following death

The Associated Press: Dallas police suspend bait car program following death


A stolen theft decoy car being monitored by police crashed into another car as officers tried to disable it, killing the 83 year old driver of the second car, Dallas police said. Officers called for dispatchers to kill the motor but an error message came up, presumably because the accident had already occurred.

Per Dallas police protocol, officers cannot ask for the kill switch to be activated until they have the decoy car in sight and believe it's safe to turn off the engine.The question is, was the a delay by the dispatcher before attempting to knock out the car?

Believe it or not, but this is reportedly the first death attributable to a bait car in the US. Cities have found the program very effective as a safe way to catch car thieves.