Candy Priano is the Founder and Executive Director of
Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY, and is a knowledgeable writer and speaker on the topic of unnecessary deaths and injuries of innocent bystanders from police chases. Priano joins
Speak Up! to talk about her efforts to raise awareness and responsibility among law enforcement officers and to promote legislation that would only allow chases when the fleeing driver has committed a violent crime or is an
Amber Alert suspect.
More about Candy PrianoCandy Priano's presentations and articles cover the inherent risk of death and injury to innocent bystanders as a result of police chases for non-violent crimes and non-emergency first responder calls. Candy’s research is based on more than seven years of extensive research. She has analyzed thousands of deadly pursuit stories and is adept at identifying the flaws in these chases. In addition, she has gleaned extensive knowledge from government and law enforcement studies and reports. Candy is an associate member of
ALERT International (Association of Professional Law Enforcement Emergency Vehicle Response Trainers International) and holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from
Valparaiso University, Indiana.
She has debated the issue of pursuit safety on such shows as
Heartland and
Connected Coast to Coast. She has spoken to civic and law enforcement groups, to media outlets, at educational conferences, and at
California Senate hearings on behalf of
Kristie’s Law, a proposed measure named after Candy’s daughter that would eliminate unnecessary chases but allow chases when the fleeing driver has committed a violent crime or is an Amber Alert suspect. As with other advocates for public safety involving vehicular police pursuits, Candy wants to make sure the benefits of a chase justify the risk because it’s not just affecting the person who was killed or maimed. It affects the immediate and extended families, friends, neighbors, and has a rippling effect through the community as deaths to innocent bystanders continue to climb.
Candy sees one of her most important roles as Executive Director of PursuitSAFETY as one of sharing, so no one has to be alone in their grief. Candy speaks to families from around the world and welcomes their phone calls and e-mails. “Life is precious, unlike a piece of property,” Candy says. “The sense of unfairness and never-ending pain does not fade away as some people want to believe.”
Candy has appeared on
Good Morning America,
CNN: Anderson Cooper 360,
California Connected,
CNN Morning Show,
ABC Nightly News Connected Coast to Coast, Heartland,
The Pulse,
The John Walsh Daytime Show,
News 10, Sacramento,
KHSL-TV,
NewsKXII-TVUSA ,
Today,
L.A. Times,
San Francisco Chronicle,
Christian Science Monitor,
The Cincinnati Enquirer and
Philadelphia Daily News.
She is a member of Association of Professional Law Enforcement Emergency Vehicle Response Trainers (ALERT),
International Law Enforcement Today,
International Road Safety,
Driver Safety, and
Toastmasters International.
Help Us Spread the WordPlease ask your family and friends to help us promote our public service announcements (PSAs) on WomensRadio and
YouTube. Awareness is the first step to making positive change. All of us understand that killing the innocent does not save lives. That’s why our PSAs (below) include images of cemeteries, and actor
Glenn Morshower, our spokesperson, saying, “We don’t want this to happen to your family.” ... In 2006, while on the set of the
Fox-TV show 24, Glenn watched a news broadcast about the violent crash that ended a police chase and killed innocent
Kristie Priano. Kristie and her family were traveling in their family van to Kristie’s high school basketball game. Glenn learned that it took seven days for Kristie to die, but only a few hours for the police to send the fleeing teenage girl home with her mother. He knew at that moment that he had to become involved and contacted Kristie's family. ... Every day, Candy listens to people who are in a state of horror … disbelief ... and grief. They never thought it would happen to their family. PursuitSAFETY exists because “We don't want this to happen to your family.”
Click on the Players Below to Hear/View Special Audio/Video PSAs:
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