The decision to initiate and continue the police pursuit of a suspect involves many factors.

It is a topic being discussed after the end of a chase in Rochester was captured on video by witnesses and posted on social media Wednesday.

Police say a carjacking of a school employee about an hour prior triggered what happened.

“Somebody came up to her, at least one person, came up to her with a knife and forcibly took the vehicle from her," said Rochester Police Lt. Greg Bello.

He says officers spotted the vehicle a short time later and attempted a traffic stop.

“As our officers started to engage or speak with the occupants or approach the vehicle, somewhere in that time period the vehicle went into reverse and accelerated into our patrol car and then went forward and took off from the officers, and then our officers chased the vehicle,” said Bello. “We had a short vehicle pursuit.”

Police say the pursuit that came to a halt when the suspect vehicle caused a crash with a school bus carrying 17 children. The bus driver and the children were not injured. Police say the suspects fled, but did not get far and were taken into custody.

“So the number one role in the police department is public safety," said Bello. "In terms of pursuing vehicles, generally we pursue vehicles for violent offenses. Suspects where we have a concern that if we don’t apprehend them then and there that they’re a risk to our community, to public safety and they’re a significant risk to our public safety, and so we’re willing at times to take the risk and chase that person.”

Police consider everything from who they are pursuing, to location, time of day and more.

“When that pursuit occurs, it’s up to our supervisors and our officers that are out there to also evaluate what’s the risk-reward on this chase,” said Bello. “So it’s always weighing the risk of, for lack of a better term, is this worth it.”

Chases can have deadly consequences. The New York Attorney General’s Office is investigating one such case, a state trooper involved in a police chase that led to the death of an 11-year-old girl in Ulster County.

The pursuits can also be dangerous to the officers.

“There’s a significant number of officers that get injured during pursuits as well because they reach high speeds at times, they reach dangerous situations," said Bello.

Just last month, a Cheektowaga police officer was critically injured while assisting during the pursuit of a stolen vehicle, according to authorities.

In the Rochester incident, the officers were not hurt, but the carjacking victim, while not stabbed, was injured.