History Main / HotPursuit

* The Philippine MMDA officers are notorious for enforcing hot pursuit to even minor offenders in their zealous attempts to apprehend them, "Do not pursue" is not on their vocabulary. On [[https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/897377/rider-on-overloaded-motorcycle-leads-mmda-in-high-speed-chase/story/ February 13, 2024]], when MMDA officers spotted a motor scooter rider carrying three passengers (the wife is on the rear, and a child is on the middle), they decide to chase down the offender (forcing the latter to speed away), ignoring that the MMDA's antics would only endanger the child.

* The Philippine MMDA officers are notorious for enforcing hot pursuit to even minor offenders in their zealous attempts to apprehend them, "do not pursue" is not on their vocabulary. On [[https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/metro/897377/rider-on-overloaded-motorcycle-leads-mmda-in-high-speed-chase/story/ February 13, 2024]], when MMDA officers spotted a motor scooter rider carrying three passengers (the wife is on the rear, and a child is on the middle), they decide to chase down the offender (forcing the latter to speed away), ignoring that the MMDA's antics would only endanger the child.

* Italian law enforcement is known to use high-performance sports car donated to them, such as the Lamborghini Gallardo [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Italian_police_cars two in 2004]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Gallardo_LP560-4_Polizia_(2008) a third in 2008]]), the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Evora#Evora_S_Carabinieri Lotus Evora (two in 2011)]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Hurac%C3%A1n#Hurac%C3%A1n_LP_610-4_Polizia_(2014) Lamborghini Huracán (one in 2014 to replace one of the Gallardos after it was destroyed on the line of duty and one in 2017)]]. They were immediately put into service for chases on highways and other duties that require extreme speed, such as organ transport. As such they're also equipped with refrigerators among other custom modifications. In 2011, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Panama_police_car_(2011) Panama put into service their own Gallardo]], this one seized from a company that had ran a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.M.G._Grupo_Holding_S.A Ponzi Scheme.]]

* ''Pinball/RedAndTedsRoadShow'' has a police chase when you get to Ohio, with Car 504 as a {{Cameo}}.

* In the premiere episode of ''Anime/SonicX'', the police go to ridiculous lengths to catch Sonic for what, at most, could be construed as disrupting traffic. (Granted, he ''is'' also an alien creature unknown to our world, which would probably be a much more valid reason for chasing him, but this is not brought up.)
** And they didn't exactly treat him like one. I think one officer even made a reference to someone's kitty cat...
** And they bust out ''Formula 1 police cars''. They are the only vehicles that can even catch up to the speedster, but ''still''.
*** Parodied mercilessly in [=ShadyVox=]'s abridgement of the first episode, where Sam Speed says "We're the high speed pursuit unit. Our job is to chase down anyone who commits a crime and tries to get away in an F1 racing car. And don't you dare say it doesn't happen. Because it totally does!"

* Happens often in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' whenever the police spots the VillainProtagonist. For once the police is actually competent, it's just that Diabolik is an AcePilot with [[CoolCar a tricked-out Jaguar E-type]] and [[CrazyPrepared all sorts of traps and gadgets waiting to be used on his car and the roads of Clerville]], so [[OvershadowedByAwesome they're still outclassed]].
** In an interesting case, the police tends to ''avert'' the trope with other criminals to avoid the risks of this trope. Diabolik is an exception because he's a repeat murderer with an enormous bodycount [[CopKiller that includes cops]] (in and out chases), has stolen an enormous amount of money and valuables in his many heists, and has a death sentence waiting for him to be caught and kept arrested long enough for the death warranty to be signed and the guillotine being prepared, [[JustifiedTrope he's rightly deemed dangerous enough that they take the risk]].

*** Quite the opposite of "do not pursue", at one point early in the climactic chase a police dispatcher calmly radios to all concerned that "the use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers has been approved."

* ''Series/DueSouth'' featured a car chase in the episode ''Heaven And Earth'', notable for having highly competent driving on the part of all of the cops involved, along with a [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic bitchin awesome accompanying song.]]
** And how did the chase start? An All Points Bulletin got put out with a [[SuspectIsHatless vague description]] of the suspect being in a particular area. Two cops saw a guy walking down the street looking shifty, and tapped the siren to get his attention. Guy takes off running, and the cops take off driving ''backwards'' after him, before pulling a hairpin turn to get going the right direction.

** ''Pinball/TheGetawayHighSpeed2'' does this as well, to the dismay of Car 504.

* In both the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' and ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series, the police will chase you after a simple fender bender. If the chase goes on long enough (and enough officers [[LemmingCops get killed trying to chase you]]), SWAT teams, helicopters, soldiers and eventually tanks will be called in to take you down. Though to be fair, after the player has killed multiple police officers and racked up thousands of dollars in property damage, they have some valid reasons to call in the tanks and jets.
** Ironically the police will up your wanted level when they kill ''themselves'' in pursuit of you -- apparently the GTA universe has some ''harsh'' felony murder laws. And of course the cops have absolutely no regard for innocent bystanders. Tanks, helicopters, troop trucks and jet fighters in the middle of an urban area - "Well, he dinged my fender!"
*** Even more amusing, they only chase you if you ding a cop car. You can plow into a civilian car at top speed and leave a huge dent in it, and the cops won't care. So much as tap a cop car though... In ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'', they will pursue other civilians that hit their cars (opening up the [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential hilarious potential to shunt other cars into the cops]], only to watch ''them'' get busted when they roll dazed from the wreckage).

** An important note is that they will chase you whether you're breaking laws or not. You can adhere to the speed limit and stop at every red light, and they will still go after you.

* Italian law enforcement is known to use high-performance sports car donated to them, such as the Lamborghini Gallardo [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Italian_police_cars two in 2004]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Gallardo_LP560-4_Polizia_(2008) a third in 2008]]), the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Evora#Evora_S_Carabinieri Lotus Evora (two in 2011)]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Hurac%C3%A1n#Hurac%C3%A1n_LP_610-4_Polizia_(2014) Lamborghini Huracán (one in 2014 to replace one of the Gallardos after it was destroyed on the line of duty and one in 2017)]]. They were immediately put into service for chases on highways and other duties that require extreme speed, such as organ transport. As such they're also equipped with refrigerators among other custom modifications.
** In 2011, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Panama_police_car_(2011) Panama put into service their own Gallardo]], this one seized from a company that had ran a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.M.G._Grupo_Holding_S.A Ponzi Scheme.]]

* Different police forces and countries have different doctrines regarding pursuits as they can be extremely hazardous to the police, the suspect(s) and anyone else on the road. A lot of the time the police will not engage in one unless the offence is serious enough to warrant it, instead opting to send a ticket via mail or quietly arrest the suspect in a safer location at a future point. Even if pursuit is deemed necessary, police will often keep their cars far enough behind to be out of sight and follow the car by helicopter or drone, then move in to arrest the suspect once they’ve stopped. High speed car chases are generally a last resort due to the potentially tragic consequences.

* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' is the most obvious example in all BloodSport video games, with a sub-series of ''NFS'' games called ''[[VideoGames/NeedForSpeedHotPursuit Hot Pursuit]]'' that allows players to play on either side of the law. Those games (especially ''Hot Pursuit'' 2010 and ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedRivals Rivals]]'') also give those vehicles a lot of weapons to work with; roadblocks, spike strips, helicopters, [=EMPs=], jammers, nitrous, etc. It's actually justified in ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat Heat]]'' through a combination of the entire police force of Palm City being {{Rabid Cop}}s and [[spoiler:the cops selling impounded sports cars on the black market for piles of cash]].

* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' is the most obvious example in all BloodSport video games, with a sub-series of ''NFS'' games called ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hot Pursuit]]'' that allows players to play on either side of the law. Those games (especially ''Hot Pursuit'' 2010 and ''Rivals'') also give those vehicles a lot of weapons to work with; roadblocks, spike strips, helicopters, [=EMPs=], jammers, nitrous, etc. It's actually justified in ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat Heat]]'' through a combination of the entire police force of Palm City being {{Rabid Cop}}s and [[spoiler:the cops selling impounded sports cars on the black market for piles of cash]].

* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' is the most obvious example in all video games, with a sub-series of ''NFS'' games called ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hot Pursuit]]'' that allows players to play on either side of the law. Those games (especially ''Hot Pursuit'' 2010 and ''Rivals'') also give those vehicles a lot of weapons to work with; roadblocks, spike strips, helicopters, [=EMPs=], jammers, nitrous, etc. It's actually justified in ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHeat Heat]]'' through a combination of the entire police force of Palm City being {{Rabid Cop}}s and [[spoiler:the cops selling impounded sports cars on the black market for piles of cash]].

* Seen in the ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'' movies which are actually made of little more than long pursuits. Indeed, Sheriff Buford T. Justice [[ArtisticLicenseLaw seems to have the impression]] that declaring he's doing this gives him free reign to pursue the Bandit ''[[UpToEleven all over the United States]]'' without interruption from other law enforcement agencies.

!!Examples include:

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hot_pursuit_5218.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"[[DonutMessWithACop Suspect believed to be in possession of fresh baker's dozen, over]]."'']]

* P.F. Chisholm's ''Robert Carey'' series of historical novels are set in the late 1500's, on what was then the disputed border between the kingdoms of England and Scotland. The titular Sir Robert Carey (commander of the English border guards), in ''A Surfeit of Guns'', is patrolling the border one night near Carlisle and intercepts a fugitive crossing from the Scottish side. A short time after, his patrol halts a Scottish incursion of armed men, who turn out to be on the King of Scotland's lawful business, allowing them by ancient right to cross into England in hot pursuit of one escaping from justice. Recognising they have the right, Carey releases the fugitive to them, despite his pleas for mercy. [[note]]His interest is aroused by the fugitive's account of ''why'' he is being chased, and he then investigates unofficially[[/note]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* Seen in the ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'' movies which are actually made of little less than long pursuits. Indeed, Sheriff Buford T. Justice [[ArtisticLicenseLaw seems to have the impression]] that declaring he's doing this gives him free reign to pursue the Bandit ''[[UpToEleven all over the United States]]'' without interruption from other law enforcement agencies.

* Roscoe P. Coltrane from ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' would gleefully shout over his CB that he was in "Hot Puuuur-Suit!" of the Duke boys, frequently followed by him driving [[LemmingCops off a cliff]] or into a lake when he couldn't match the Duke's driving ability.

** And how did the chase start? An All Points Bulletin got put out with a [[SuspectIsHatless vague discription]] of the suspect being in a particular area. Two cops saw a guy walking down the street looking shifty, and tapped the siren to get his attention. Guy takes off running, and the cops take off driving ''backwards'' after him, before pulling a hairpin turn to get going the right direction.

* In episode 8 of ''Anime/{{K}}'', the supernatural police force Scepter 4 deploys all of its helicopters to apprehend the Silver King from his airship. Doumyouji, a member of the top squad, remarks that it seems like a lot. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]], though - the Silver King is the most powerful of the seven Kings in that system, and he's been acting [[OutOfCharacterAlert peculiar recently]]... since the night of the incident they're investigating, actually.

** The titular character lampshades it in the comment at the top of the page

* Parodied again in ''{{Film/Taxi}} 2''. Insults about sexual tastes directed to some cops cause Paris' entire police force to chase down the main characters throughout the city (with predictably destructive results).
* Seen in the ''Film/SmokeyAndTheBandit'' movies which are actually made of little less than long pursuits. Indeed, Sheriff Buford T. Justice [[ArtisticLicenseLaw seems to have the impression]] that declaring he's doing this gives him free reign to pursue the Bandit ''[[UpToEleven all over the United States]]'' without interruption from other law enforcement agencies.
* In the HeroicBloodshed movie ''Film/TheBigHeat1988'', the main character, a CowboyCop, engage a criminal on a foot chase through heavy traffic, both of them firing pot shots at each other while dodging moving cars. [[spoiler: The suspect was eventually shot in the foot while on an overpass, he's unable to move out of the way of another incoming vehicle which then runs him over and sends him flying off the bridge. And upon landing, the victim hits and bounces off the windshield of another vehicle, before hitting the road with a splat. [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Then a third vehicle runs him over for good measure]]. You know, just in case he survives the fall]]...

* P.F. Chisholm's "Robert Carey" series of historical novels are set in the late 1500's, on what was then the disputed border between the kingdoms of England and Scotland. The titular Sir Robert Carey (commander of the English border guards), in ''A Surfeit of Guns'', is patrolling the border one night near Carlisle and intercepts a fugitive crossing from the Scottish side. A short time after, his patrol halts a Scottish incursion of armed men, who turn out to be on the King of Scotland's lawful business, allowing them by ancient right to cross into England in hot pursuit of one escaping from justice. Recognising they have the right, Carey releases the fugitive to them, despite his pleas for mercy. [[note]]His interest is aroused by the fugitive's account of ''why'' he is being chased, and he then investigates unofficially[[/note]]
* [[DefiedTrope Defied]] in ''Literature/SuperMinion''. The cars in Fortress City are all programmed to automatically pull over if a police vehicle sends an automatic command, regardless of anything the driver does.

* Pretty much OnceAnEpisode in ''Series/{{CHiPs}}''.

* ''Pinball/RedAndTedsRoadShow'' has a police chase when you get to Ohio, with Car 504 as a {{Cameo}}.
* "Police Car Frenzy" in ''[[VideoGame/ProPinballBigRaceUSA Pro Pinball: Big Race USA]]''.

* One of the rescue missions in Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''[[Pinball/{{Rescue911}} Rescue 911]]'' is "Hostage", which involves a police chase.
* Car Chase mode in ''Pinball/DemolitionMan,'' which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* ''VideoGame/TheGetaway'' managed to sort of justify it; occasionally you'll hear [[EnemyChatter someone on a police radio]] mention that they've recognised the player character, who became wanted for murdering his wife (which he didn't actually do) in the opening cutscene and has been roaming the streets of London single-handedly causing enough mayhem to rival the 2011 riots.
* The ''GTA'' cops are lenient compared to those in ''VideoGame/{{Driver}}'', who will pursue you to the end for traffic offenses that ''GTA''[='=]s police will ignore. ''Driver'' cops have even been known to go after the player when ''another'' car breaks the law.

* Another non-car incident occurs towards the latter third of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI''. Granted, at this point your character has killed half a dozen important members of society and countless soldiers and guards and they're on the lookout for funny behavior in a white hood, but even so much as knocking someone over or climbing a wall will cause Altair to have half the city watch chasing him. Even before that point, the guards will attack him for the crime of taking his horse above a walk (When did speed limits get imposed in the 12th Century?)

* Occurs during the [[Music/AvrilLavigne "Sk8r Boi"]] level of ''VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents'', where the Agents are assisting a cabbie who DrivesLikeCrazy. [[spoiler:If you pass the third segment, the cops, informed that Jack's passenger is a woman in labor, subvert this by giving up the pursuit and escorting you, as they would in real life.]]

** In 2011, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Gallardo#Panama_police_car_(2011) Panama put into service their own Gallardo]], this one seized from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.M.G._Grupo_Holding_S.A. a company that had ran a Ponzi scheme]].

* Happens often in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' due the VillainProtagonist being a repeat murderer and a CopKiller among his many crimes. For once the police is actually competent, it's just that Diabolik is an AcePilot with [[CoolCar a tricked-out Jaguar E-type]] and [[CrazyPrepared all sorts of traps and gadgets waiting to be used on his car and the roads of Clerville]], so [[OvershadowedByAwesome they're still outclassed]].

* Happens often in ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' due the VillainProtagonist being a repeat murderer and a CopKiller among his many crimes. For once the police is actually competent, it's just that Diabolik is an AcePilot with [[CoolCar a tricked-out Jaguar E-type]] and [[CrazyPrepared all sorts of traps and gadgets waiting to be used on his car and the roads of Clerville]] and [[OvershadowedByAwesome they're still outmatched]].

* ''Film/TheChase'' is basically made of one long Hot Pursuit with half a dozen police cruisers always keeping the same distance to the getaway car.