HOUSTON -- The father of an innocent woman who was killed during a police chase spoke out Thursday about the Houston Police Department's chase policy, KPRC Local 2 reported.

In April 2007, Rikki Sanchez was killed when a car thief running from police slammed into her SUV.

"It's still difficult as time goes by," said George Sanchez, Rikki Sanchez's husband. "You would think it would get easier, but it doesn't."

Rikki Sanchez, 24, left behind two children.

"They still ask questions," Sanchez said. "It's not easy."

The man who killed Rikki Sanchez went to prison for 37 years. Her father, Leo Rudd, said he also felt that the Houston Police Department's chase policy contributed to her death. He and George Sanchez sued the city.

"The amount of money we received was not important," said Rudd. "All we wanted to do was change the procedures."

After two years, Rudd and Sanchez settled with the city. Rudd said they were convinced that there was nothing they could do to force a change.

"I am very despairing about it, yes," Rudd said. "We had hoped we could make a change. We had hoped to keep her name alive and that the city could listen, and would listen to us."

Some of the strongest opposition comes from the police officers themselves. The president of the Houston Police Officers' Union said fleeing from police is a felony, and officers can't ignore that.

"It's tragic, but sometimes in life, things like that happen," HPOU President Gary Blankinship said. "It's certainly not caused by police. It's caused by an individual who chooses to commit a felony."

Rudd said he still thinks there's room for compromise.