A Cook County judge is again, releasing violent dangerous criminals back onto the streets:

• Two men in a stolen car who led police on a 20-mile long chase that ended in a crash after fleeing the burglary of a father and son’s work van in Lake View have now been accused in three more burglaries.  

Wait, what?

A twenty-mile chase? Are you f#$%ing kidding us?

Evidently not, because here's some video coverage:

The reporter in the helicopter says the vehicle was observed:

• flying through red lights,
• blowing by stop signs, 
• being involved in at least one traffic accident,
• going the wrong way on Lake Shore Drive,
• driving on a sidewalk,
• exceeding 100 MPH 

Each and every one of these actions is grounds for termination of the pursuit - BY GENERAL ORDER!

Failure to follow said General Order, is (and has been) grounds for extensive suspensions, up to and including Thirty Pending Separation. Not to mention recent monetary judgements against the City and PUNITIVE DAMAGES assessed against Officers.

Society demanded these new rules and has been enforcing them with jury verdicts. We don't like them, we've never liked them, we don't support them in any way at all....but it's the reality we served under and currently live under. No idea who in the chain of command dropped the ball here, but they need some extensive retraining.

(UPDATE) A comment from a day ago asked who's liable if the criminals think the NBC chopper is actually the Police helicopter and, while fleeing the "pursuit," wrecks and kills someone? We wonder.