The police chase through Peachtree

City that led to a fatal crash at the city's easternmost limits Saturday

night first toured through The Avenue shopping center at high speeds,

according to law enforcement officials.

The chase was initiated by

two Luthersville police officers, but the chase should not have taken

place to begin with, argues Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray.

Murray has written a letter petitioning the governor to authorize legislation

to keep similar situations from occurring again and to hold police accountable

when they do occur.

To protect the public, Peachtree

City police blocked off intersections of Ga. Highway 54 as the pursuit

continued, Murray said.

Officers did not have time

to deploy "spike sticks" to disable the pursued vehicle, Murray

said. But it's unlikely they would have been able to utilize the spikes

anyway because of the potential danger to other traffic on the road, Murray

said.

The Luthersville Police Department

is not releasing many details about the incident that sparked the pursuit.

In his letter to Governor Roy

Barnes, Murray said the Peachtree City Police Department "has one

of the most restrictive police chase policies in the state of Georgia."

In some cases, deadly police

chases can be avoided when the suspect could be arrested at a later time,

Murray wrote.

"The theory that failure

to chase would send the word that you can run from police does not hold

water," Murray said in the letter. "That is why police have

radios."

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