(Published October 16‚ 2003)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The state Highway Patrol will begin requiring an outside agency to investigate wrecks resulting from police chases.

Troopers will use a new interpretation of a 1994 law that requires independent investigations when a law enforcement vehicle is "involved in a traffic collision."

Before, the Highway Patrol had read the law to mean the police vehicle had to hit another object.

But now, troopers will call for outside investigators when police chases led to crashes even if a police cruiser isn't physically involved in the wreck, according to internal Highway Patrol memos obtained by The State newspaper.

The new interpretation matches why the law was created in the first place - to protect the public from biased investigations or the appearance of bias, said former state senator Larry Richter, who wrote the law.

Violating the 1994 law is considered misconduct, and officers can be removed from office.

Richter, other legislators and four opinions by the state Attorney General said law enforcement had been incorrectly interpreting the law.

The Highway Patrol's new policy does not address wrecks involving local law enforcement agencies.

But local agencies will likely follow the patrol's lead, said South Carolina Sheriffs' Association director Jeff Moore.

The association's board on Wednesday also asked state lawmakers to clarify the language in the law.

Troopers began to look at their crash investigation policies after Forest Acres police took the narrower interpretation of the law and conducted their own investigation into a May 27 chase that ended in the death of Beverly Meyers, a passenger in a car that was struck by a vehicle driven by a suspect who was fleeing police.

Information from: The State