Person riding scooter died in Paterson crash while being pursued by police, sources say

A person riding a motorized scooter was killed in a crash in Paterson on Wednesday night while being pursued by police from Totowa, multiple law enforcement sources said.

The crash happened after 7 p.m. around McBride and Murray avenues after the police followed the scooter over a bridge crossing the Passaic River, the sources said.

The victim’s name had not been released as of late Thursday morning. It was not clear what prompted the Totowa police to pursue the scooter, the sources said. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has guidelines restricting when police officers are allowed to chase motor vehicles, including motorized scooters.

The fatality is being investigated by the Passaic County prosecutor and the Attorney General’s Office, the sources said.

Paterson limits pursuits

After the crash, a memo sent out to department staff by Officer-in-Charge Isa Abbassi restricted pursuits to "only those rare circumstances where the risk to public safety if the violator escapes outweighs the risks associated with a vehicle pursuit."

The memo noted that pursuits for "routine traffic infractions are never authorized" and that supervisors should "immediately terminate" pursuits unless there is an "imminent threat to the community."

These guidelines are stricter than those expected by the state and a "formal policy" is being drafted, Abbassi said.

"These guidelines exist not only to protect the public from the potential for catastrophic injury as the unintended result of a pursuit, but also to protect you and your families from the equally catastrophic outcomes of potential civil and criminal action resulting from a vehicle pursuit emanating from a relatively minor offense or infraction," Abbassi said.

NorthJersey.com staff writer Katie Sobko contributed to this article

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ crash involving scooter left 1 dead, sources say