Fort Lauderdale Officer Suspended After Intervening Runaway Car Incident

Fort Lauderdale cop, Karl Hirsch recently faced an unpaid suspension after making use of his patrol cruiser to halt a moving car that bore two little girls, but no driver. The January 26 incident, that fortunately resulted in no injuries, elicited an Internal Affairs investigation, ordered by the Police Chief Patrick Lynn. The investigation concluded on May 24, revealing that Hirsch was being probed for possibly breaching department policy by “carelessly, negligently or intentionally causing waste, loss or damage to any city property.” In halting the runaway car, Hirsch's squad car incurred nearly $10,000 in damages.

Hirsch, who possesses a law enforcement lineage, joined the force in June 2019. His late father was a sergeant with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department; his mother has enjoyed a long career there as a traffic homicide investigator, and his maternal grandfather is a retired Hollywood cop.

Although the incident under discussion is Hirsch's third accident within the year, there is no dash-cam footage of the accidents due to Fort Lauderdale cars not having dashboard cameras. Officers of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department potentially face dismissal if they are involved in four preventable accidents within a year, said the city’s Human Resources director.

The targeted officer, Hirsch, witnessed the primary driver jump out from the moving car during a chase for armed robbery suspects, leaving the car at an estimated speed of 10 mph. Concerned for the safety of the children inside the car, Hirsch used his squad car as a barricade to immobilize it.

Post-chase, the suspects, including the children's mother, were arrested and charged for being involved in an armed robbery a month earlier.

Despite the disciplinary action, many have praised Hirsch's quick thinking and decisive intervention, arguing that the technical violation should be weighed against the potential risk to the children's safety. It is believed that this incident could potentially provoke deeper discussion on police protocols and their adaptability in response to rapidly-evolving, high-risk scenarios.