That's not to say it's flawed, or that it wasn't being followed when a young father was killed by a suspected car thief earlier this month.

But it's natural that residents want to be reassured that their safety is the first priority on officers' minds while they're doing their duty.

A state police investigator Wednesday confirmed a city officer was pursuing a stolen car Oct. 7 when the driver crashed and killed 35-year-old Angel Blanco-Hernandez.

Debate over the department's pursuit policy was cut short at a council meeting earlier this week -- with the victim's widow in attendance -- by council President Joe Musso.

"If we're getting to the point where we've got so many bad guys that we have to let somebody go, I think we have bigger problems," he said.

Contacted after the meeting, York City Police Commissioner Mark Whitman said state police should be allowed to complete their investigation before a dialogue begins.

"No one should be discussing this in the public at this juncture," he said.

That's simply wishful thinking.

Although details of the moments before the crash were murky, the dialogue began the moment Blanco-Hernandez was killed at the intersection of Parkway Boulevard and Smith Street -- whether Whitman or Musso wanted to take part in it or not.

It was too easy for any one of us to imagine ourselves in the victim's position, minding our own business, heading to school to pick up our children.

We understand there are two investigations ongoing: State police are probing the crash, and city police are investigating whether policies and procedures were followed.

However, if nothing else, it might have been helpful if Whitman had issued a public statement to the effect:

Our pursuit policy is designed to first and foremost protect the safety of bystanders. We will determine if the officer was following it; if not, action will be taken. If the officer was following procedure, we will determine if the pursuit policy needs to be improved.

And right now, there is nothing to indicate this officer did anything reckless. He or she was attempting to stop a suspected car thief. Yes, the state police said there was a pursuit, but the investigator has not said if it was a high-speed pursuit, or how long it lasted. He did say the officer was following at a distance.

At the heated city council meeting earlier this week, Councilwoman Toni Smith said, "I don't think going after a stolen car was worth the life of a husband and father."

Of course not. But unless we expect our officers to nod and wave at suspects, they're going to attempt to stop them.

If this officer noticed a stolen vehicle, got behind it and turned on the lights and sirens, prompting the driver to flee recklessly -- well, the tragic death of a husband and father is the suspect's responsibility and no one else's.