FLEEING IN VEHICLE MAY BECOME FELONY.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

Seeking tougher penalties for motorists who flee from police, Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss, a former federal prosecutor, and state Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, plan to introduce a proposal today for the ``Harley Law.''

Named after Harley Medellin, the baby boy from Sylmar who lost an arm when a fleeing suspect hit his family's SUV broadside in early December, the proposed law would make fleeing police in a car an automatic felony.

Currently, people who drive away can be charged with either a felony or a misdemeanor.

Weiss said driving away from police officers is so inherently dangerous for bystanders and other motorists that it should bring an automatic jail sentence.

``In my view, when you put it in drive, you should be going to state prison,'' Weiss said.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Police Commission revised its pursuit policy to prohibit police from chasing motorists unless they are wanted for a serious crime. The revised policy would not have affected the pursuit in which baby Harley was injured, as the suspect was wanted in connection with a stabbing.

Weiss and Levine are set to make the announcement at the intersection of Beverly and La Cienega boulevards where a man and a woman were badly hurt in March when they were hit by a fleeing suspect.