Montana No Chase Law
Agency discretion
Does Montana have a no-chase law? No — Montana has no statewide law restricting police pursuits. Each department sets its own chase policy.
What governs pursuits in Montana
MCA 61-8-107 (privileges/conditions for emergency vehicles; not a pursuit restriction)
Montana Code 61-8-107 grants police vehicles special privileges (speed, signals, etc.) when responding to emergencies or in pursuit, subject to due-regard-for-safety conditions, but it does not restrict when a pursuit may be initiated or require agencies to limit pursuits to specific offenses. Montana DOJ has a model vehicular-pursuit policy (Policy 20.0.0) but it is not a binding statewide statutory restriction; individual departments (e.g., Montana Highway Patrol, local PDs) set their own pursuit criteria.
Will police chase a motorcycle in Montana?
No statewide Montana law addresses motorcycle pursuits specifically. Whether an officer pursues a fleeing motorcycle is a case-by-case, department-level call weighing public-safety risk (motorcycles are often let go at high speed/reckless conditions per general pursuit-termination criteria), not a written no-chase rule.
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 Montana regardless. See the state-by-state motorcycle guide for how this works everywhere.
Sources
- mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0610/chapter_0080/part_0010/section_0070/0610-0080
- dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/P20-Vehicular-Pursuits-10-2015-1.doc
- law.justia.com/codes/montana/title-61/chapter-8/part-1/section-61-8-107/
Verified as of August 2026. Department policies can change without notice — check the agency's published policy for current break-off criteria.