INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- The parents of a 17-year-old boy killed during an Independence police chase are demanding changes in police policy.

John and Cheryl Cooper spoke with KCTV5 News about the police chase that ended their son's life on Nov. 8.

Chris Cooper was riding his bike that night, crossing Noland Road at Osage Avenue in Independence on his way to his dad's house.

At the same time, Independence police were chasing a driver who had crashed into another car and drove off.

Police said that driver then hit Cooper during the chase and drove on.

John and Cheryl Cooper are divorced, but live just blocks apart, not far from the place Chris was hit.

"My neighbor came out and said, 'Hey, did you see the wreck up on Noland?' and I'm like, 'No. I heard all the sirens.' And she goes, 'Well, my daughter saw a bicycle,' and my heart hit the floor," remembered John Cooper.

John went to the scene. Paramedics had already rushed Chris to the hospital. John and Cheryl hurried to get there.

"When we got there, he was gone," said Cheryl.

The Coopers are now working to change the Independence Police Department's chase policy.

In Feb. 2006, a KCTV5 News investigation uncovered that Independence has one of the least restrictive pursuit policies in the metro. The decision to chase rests solely with the officer.

"It just seems like it's a devil-may-care, 'I will chase you. I don't care what the consequences are,'" Cheryl Cooper said. "I want the policy changed. I want them to go over other police department policies to see what they've done."

When Chris died, it was the third time in eight days that an Independence police chase had resulted in death.

The other two people were involved directly in the chase, but not Chris. He was just crossing the street on his way home.

When KCTV5's Craig Nigrelli called the Independence Police Department on Wednesday to ask if they intend to change their pursuit policy, police spokesman Tom Gentry referred him to the city's legal department.

The city attorney told Nigrelli that the Coopers have retained a lawyer and have asked that all evidence be preserved.

No lawsuit has yet been filed.

No changes to the Independence chase policy have been made.