John Oliver has turned his attention to the dangers of high-speed police chases in the US, highlighting a recent investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle which found that at least 3,336 people died in police pursuits over six years – an average of nearly two a day. The majority of those killed were not the fleeing drivers, and more than 500 were innocent bystanders.
Oliver noted that while fleeing drivers are often portrayed as violent criminals, a 2023 report found that 90% of pursuits were initiated by traffic violations. He cited the case of William Johnson, killed while stopped at a red light by a car fleeing a police officer for a seatbelt violation. 'That is absurd,' Oliver said. 'The whole point of a seatbelt law was to keep people safe on the road, so it’s more than a little counter-productive to then enforce it by turning the road into a fucking Nascar track.'
The host traced the modern era of police chases to the 1994 OJ Simpson chase, which attracted 95 million viewers and ushered in an era of police chases as entertainment. He noted that Pluto TV recently launched a 24-hour police chase channel, calling it 'the exact type of depressingly accurate nonsense sentence that permeates our world right now.'
Oliver highlighted the lack of national standards for police chases, with 18,000 law enforcement agencies setting their own policies. Some only allow pursuits for serious crimes, while others have no requirements. He also pointed out racial disparities: Black Americans, who make up about an eighth of the US population, account for more than a third of police chase fatalities and more than a quarter of bystanders killed.
Research shows that police chases do not improve public safety; when the number of pursuits increases, so do injuries and deaths. Oliver concluded: 'Something has to be done.'
