During his eight-year tenure at the helm of the D.C. police force, Charles H. Ramsey made a big deal of stopping pointless car chases in pursuit of fleeing perps. They’re too dangerous, said the top cop. Ironic, then, that the last lawsuit filed against Ramsey while he was sitting chief revolves around a chase that ended badly. On Dec. 22, Robert T. Lee and Alyce Summers filed a complaint in U.S. District Court alleging that police improperly pursued Lee’s daughter and Summers, who on Christmas Eve 2005 accepted a ride from a man who had stolen the car 30 minutes earlier in Hyattsville. Three separate law-enforcement agencies chased the car down Pennsylvania Avenue SE. At the 1700 block, the car slammed into a light pole, injuring Summers and killing Lee’s daughter. The department’s general orders stipulate that officers may pursue a fleeing suspect only if they’ve exhausted all other remedies, believe that the suspect is a danger, and “the lives of innocent people will not be endangered.”