The NYPD has reduced its high-speed chases by 85 percent in little more than a month, but the street-safety policy change came too late to save a Harlem man killed by a driver fleeing police late last year.
On Thursday, agency officials announced that they had arrested a Bronx car thief for killing Devon "Hawk" Hughley back in November after a high-speed chase initiated by cops — the predictable end to an NYPD practice so dangerous to civilians that Commissioner Jessica Tisch prioritized reducing chases as one of her first actions after assuming her post late last year.
Enesin Delarosa, 26, was arrested and charged with manslaughter, fleeing a police officer, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and for stealing the blue Toyota minivan that he was driving at a "high rate of speed" after fleeing a police stop on W. 152nd Street and Broadway on the night of Nov. 2, 2024 and slamming into Hughley, who was on his beloved bicycle.
Hughley died at the scene. Weeks later, Tisch announced her new policy aimed at cutting such chases.
By statistical measures, it has been a vast and swift success: According to the NYPD, between Feb. 1, when Tisch's anti-chase policy went into effect, and March 2, there were 37 police chases, down from 242 during the same period the previous year — a decline of just under 85 percent. Pursuits that ended in collisions also dropped to 15 from 50 in the same period, a decline of 70 percent.
Those numbers show a dramatic change from the numbers through September of last year (numbers that, for what it's worth, the NYPD has not updated on Open Data, despite Tisch's deep involvement in NYPD data in her prior role in the department):
Tisch told Streetsblog that the reduction in chases comes as crime itself is dropping, putting to rest the notion that the NYPD needed to undertake chases as "a crime-fighting strategy."
"Sometimes it’s as simple as identifying the right issue; setting sound, thoughtful, data-driven policy; and pairing it with clear training," she said about her strategy for reducing chases. "It’s rewarding to see these street-safety gains paired with double-digit decreases in crime ushered in by the noble women and men of the NYPD over the same time period."
If only the change in policy had occurred earlier in the tenure of Mayor Adams, who directed police officials to be more aggressive in pursuing fleeing suspects, even those who were not suspected of a violent crime. As a result, chases — and road violence — soared: In calendar year 2024, police initiated 2,278 pursuits, 25 percent of which "resulted in some combination of a collision, property damage, or physical harm," the NYPD said in a statement earlier this year. A police source said there had been about a dozen fatalities following chases in 2024.
In one high-profile instance from that same year, the NYPD chased a suspected burglar, who sped off and slammed into cyclist Amanda Servedio, killing her. Since that death, residents of Astoria, Streetsblog, and Servedio's parents, have singled out the 114th Precinct as a hot spot for chases, and the local community board demanded change. Under Tisch's new policy, the chase that killed Amanda Servedio might not even have begun.
The same is true for the chase that preceded the killing of Hughley, who was killed by a suspected car thief. Tisch's policy allows for chases only for the most serious and violent crimes, such as felonies and violent misdemeanors.
Hughley's family said his loss "leaves behind a legacy of laughter, love, and unforgettable memories."
"Family gatherings were never dull with Devon around," a family member posted online. "He had a natural gift for bringing laughter and joy to every occasion, and he could always find a way to make those around him smile. Outside of family, Devon enjoyed riding bikes, motorcycles, four-wheelers and scooters. At a younger age, Devon was seen in popping wheelies in his aunt's wheelchair, which he’d later go on to do with motorcycles and four wheelers in countless video. He was definitely one of the best to do it in the streets of Harlem."
