KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Valentine’s Law, which increases penalties for fleeing from a traffic stop, took effect just over a month ago in Missouri.
Counties around the Kansas City metro have now filed some of their first cases under the new law.
In Clay County, three cases that fall under Valentine’s Law have been filed so far.
Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zach Thompson said the increased penalties are essential because of how often people fleeing from officers results in injuries to them, other drivers, pedestrians, and officers.
“It’s a miracle anytime that someone doesn’t get hurt when someone makes the reckless decision to flee from a traffic stop,” Thompson said.
One of the most recent cases filed in Clay County, where Valentine’s Law was applied started as a disturbance call but turned into a pursuit.
Court documents say the suspect, William Robinson, fired shots at officers and then left the scene in an Amazon delivery truck.
“So we were involved in that pursuit, but we’re involved in pursuits maybe 1 to 3 times a week, and a lot of those we don’t follow because we know it’s dangerous,” said Clay Co. Sheriif’s Office Public Relations Manager Sarah Boyd.
Clay County deputies extensively train on when is the right time to pursue.
“People who are presenting an ongoing danger to the public, who have committed a crime that is dangerous and that we need to get into custody, we do pursue for those things,” Boyd explained.
The law raises penalties for fleeing from a traffic stop.
If the drivers’ actions create a substantial risk of injury, they’ll face a minimum of one year in prison.
If it results in someone’s death, you could face 10 to 30 years or even life in prison.
“When someone makes the decision to flee from a traffic stop, what they’re really doing is creating a two ton missile that flies down the highway, endangering motorists, pedestrians, the law enforcement officers who are trying to just do their job, and the defendant himself,” Thompson explained. “We want to hold those folks accountable and hopefully dissuade anybody from making that decision in the future.”
It’s named after St. Louis County detective Antonio Valentine who was killed in the line of duty after a fleeing car struck his unmarked police car in December of 2021.
