Pursuits must be based off of what you know.

• A. What you know.
• B. Policy manuals.
• C. Dispatch guidance.
• D. Vehicle maintenance.

Answer: (A)

Pursuits are decision-heavy situations where the safest and most effective course of action comes from applying your knowledge and training. Your understanding of pursuit policies, risk assessment, driving tactics, and stop techniques guides whether to pursue, disengage, or terminate a chase. This knowledge helps you weigh factors like public safety, suspect threat, traffic conditions, and weather in real time, leading you to make judgment calls rather than simply following a manual or others’ directions.

Policy manuals are valuable as the rules and framework you should follow, but they don’t substitute for the officer’s on-the-spot judgment built from training and experience. Dispatch guidance can aid situational awareness (locations, resources, or warnings) but it isn’t the sole basis for the decision—you rely on what you know to interpret and apply that information correctly. Vehicle maintenance affects capability and safety, but it doesn’t determine the appropriate decision in the moment; knowledge and judgment do.

So the best basis for action is what you know—the knowledge you’ve gained from training, policy understanding, and practical experience, applied to assess risk and make safe, lawful decisions during the pursuit.