What must an officer do under immediate and continuous pursuit?

When an officer is engaged in immediate and continuous pursuit of a suspect, the primary responsibility is to maintain that pursuit without interruption. This principle is rooted in the need to apprehend a suspect who poses an ongoing threat to public safety or who is attempting to evade law enforcement. The immediacy of the situation requires that the officer focuses on the pursuit to minimize the chance of losing the suspect, who may pose further risk to others.

Maintaining continuous pursuit ensures that the officer can keep track of the suspect's movements and take appropriate action to apprehend them when circumstances allow. This focus is critical in scenarios where waiting to call for backup or stopping to assist other officers could allow the suspect to escape or further endanger civilians.

In cases like this, the urgency of the pursuit outweighs the need to engage in ancillary actions, such as filing reports or waiting for additional support, which could compromise the effectiveness of the response. Thus, the officer’s primary duty in a situation of immediate and continuous pursuit is to keep the chase going until the suspect is apprehended or the situation stabilizes.