Mississippi No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Mississippi have a no-chase law? No — Mississippi has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Mississippi
Miss. Code § 45-1-43 (policy-adoption requirement); § 97-9-72, § 97-9-73 (fleeing/eluding penalties)
Mississippi Code § 45-1-43 requires each law enforcement agency to have a written pursuit policy, and the Department of Public Safety/Standards and Training offers a 'suggested' model policy, but agencies are not required to adopt it, so there is no uniform statewide restriction on when pursuits may occur. Separately, §§ 97-9-72 and 97-9-73 criminalize fleeing/eluding police, with felony penalties (up to 10 years) for reckless flight. A 2022-2023 push (e.g., HB1036) to tighten pursuit standards after fatal crashes did not become binding statewide law.
Will police chase a motorcycle in Mississippi?
No Mississippi statute addresses motorcycle pursuits specifically. Whether officers chase a fleeing motorcycle is left to each department's own policy under § 45-1-43, with many local policies barring pursuit over mere misdemeanors regardless of vehicle type.
No US state has a literal law forbidding officers from chasing motorcycles. What riders call a "no-chase law" is nearly always a department policy that tells officers to break off a pursuit when the danger to the public outweighs the arrest — and fleeing remains a crime in Mississippi regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Sources
- law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-97/chapter-9/article-1/section-97-9-72/
- law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-97/chapter-9/article-1/section-97-9-73/
- wlbt.com/2022/08/16/legislators-willing-re-examine-hot-pursuit-law-wake-recent-d
- billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2023/html/HB/1000-1099/HB1036IN.htm
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.