Police chases, at their worst, are deadly. They tend to damage property. They can leave communities grieving. Most states — including Texas — have no idea how many chases happen within their own state beyond how highway troopers engage.

Despite their prominence in policing and the risk they pose, there are no laws dictating how most Texas law enforcement agencies should carry out chases.

In his 12 years as a state representative, Houston Democrat Gene Wu said he hasn’t heard much discussion among his colleagues seeking to address that.

“The way I perceive it is that most cities have good policies on chases because it affects their bottom line,” Wu said. “When those chases go wrong and it kills innocent people, they pay, and they pay a lot. So, I think from my perspective — I won’t speak for everyone — but the perspective is that it seems like something that the cities would take care of themselves to protect themselves.”

KERA News spoke to Wu and other state lawmakers in Austin last month as the clock ran out to file bills in the Texas Legislature. They, along with outside experts, offered some insight into what drives the lawmaking process in Texas and whether police chases – which killed nearly 100 people in Texas in 2022 – will ever be regulated statewide.

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