Do state troopers get enough training?

BELLEVILLE -- A crash that killed two sisters has raised questions about whether Illinois State Police troopers get adequate training in the handling of their vehicles, including high-speed pursuits.

Officers generally receive much more training for gun safety than for their vehicles where they spend a majority of their careers, according to John Phillips, the executive director for PursuitWatch, a Florida-based organization that promotes safe police driving techniques.

"The problem here is that in a 25-year career, an officer on average will shoot their gun once," he said. "And in that same time period, 80 percent of their time on the job is spent in their car. Yet when we look at training, it's overwhelmingly in the use of their handgun."

Illinois State Police must requalify for gun use every three months by going to a shooting range. For driving, they receive training once while they are cadets, according to Master Sgt. Brian Ley, a state police spokesman.

The concerns over driving safety follow a Nov. 23 crash that killed Jessica Uhl, 18, and Kelli Uhl, 13.

Trooper Matt Mitchell claimed that a vehicle cut him off on Interstate 64 while he was en route to another wreck. The other vehicle reportedly forced him into the way of an oncoming car occupied by the Collinsville sisters. They died at the scene.

Mitchell suffered severe leg injuries and remains hospitalized.

State police are investigating the crash and have interviewed 79 witnesses.

Authorities have not released how fast Mitchell was traveling and other data collected by the black box of his police car. A dashboard video camera in the vehicle should have recorded the crash, but was shut off, state police said.

Mitchell has had two previous crashes on the job during his six-year with state police.

In 2002, he was involved in a single-vehicle crash with no injuries. The following year he rear-ended a vehicle at a low speed in Springfield, which resulted in a $1.7 million judgment against the state. No one was treated at the scene, but a person in the car later sought treatment for aggravation of a pre-existing condition.

State police have said that it is not uncommon for officers who log thousands of miles each year to have accidents.