As city attorney John Doherty stood up to introduce himself to the jury, he started a stopwatch.

By the time he finished his first sentence, 12 seconds had ticked by.

That amount of time, he said, was more than the time it took for a police pursuit in Homewood on May 25, 2006, that killed two passing motorists.

The survivors of those two motorists -- Jerome Smith, 34, of Stanton Heights, and Michelle Rankin, 35, of Wilkinsburg -- are suing the city of Pittsburgh for wrongful death.

They allege that three officers involved in the daylight chase failed to follow police bureau procedures when they decided to pursue a vehicle for having two burned out taillights.

But Mr. Doherty claims that the officers, who were in an unmarked green Chevy Lumina on special patrol in Homewood looking for guns and drugs, were assessing the situation and found the driver of the Chevy Colorado in question to be acting suspiciously.

"They don't get a second chance to consider what they miss," Mr. Doherty said. "Time is clicking away from them."

When the officers first noticed the broken taillights, they called in the license plate to check the vehicle's registration. But they didn't wait for a response from dispatch before initiating a traffic stop.

Devon Miles, the driver of the small pickup, pulled over to the curb, but then quickly drove away from the officers.

In a distance less than three football fields, the suspect fled and drove through a red light at Bennett Street and North Lang Avenue, slamming into the passenger side of Ms. Rankin's Ford Escort, as she and Mr. Smith returned from a trip to Home Depot to buy paint.

It is Mr. Miles, who pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, who should be held responsible, Mr. Doherty told the jury.

"When he accelerated, Devon Miles initiated the pursuit," the defense lawyer said. "He is the one who determined this pursuit would occur."

But the plaintiffs' first witness -- an expert in police policy who teaches at Indiana University of Pennsylvania -- disagreed.

"Police officers initiate pursuits. Criminals don't," said R. Paul McCauley. "The police made a conscious decision based on their own choice. This is not a split-second decision."

According to the city's motor vehicle pursuit policy, a chase is only justified, "when the necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the level of danger created by the pursuit."

"There's no immediate need to apprehend a person who has a taillight out," Dr. McCauley said.

Before initiating a pursuit, the officer is supposed to take into consideration the nature of the offense, the time of day, pedestrian and vehicular traffic, as well as the speeds being traveled, the policy continued.

Alan Perer, the attorney representing the victims' families, said the officers in question, driver Sean Rattigan, passenger Robert Pires and backseat passenger Jerry Kabala, didn't do that.

"This whole situation could have been avoided if proper procedure was followed," he said.

"There has to be some balance so you don't wind up killing two innocent people in the prime of their lives."

Mr. Perer told the jurors not to even consider that police later found a gun and drugs in the fleeing car.

"That has nothing to do with this case," he said. "There was no reason to pursue this vehicle."

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