In the law enforcement field there are the moments of
adrenalin rushes. Some officers
experience them more than others. I am sure officers in LA or New York City
experience them more than the officers in small towns and bedroom communities.
Throughout my future posts I will be talking about several adrenaline rushes I
experienced. Today I felt like discussing this particular one.
I was working the night shift (12:00 midnight – 8:00AM) one
fall evening when at about 3:00 I decided to pull into a parking lot on one of
the city’s major streets. During those early morning hours it is good to park
where you aren’t noticed easily, turn your car off, roll down your windows.
While parked, officers would look and listen for sights and sounds out of the
ordinary. It was also helpful to park throughout the evening in an effort to
save gas and to catch up on paperwork from the previous cases worked that
morning.
Where I was parked I was able to see both intersections at
either end of the block. Both intersections
had traffic lights. After sitting there
about ten minutes I observed a car drive through the intersection on my right
heading southbound at not exceedingly fast, but well above the posted 20 MPH limit
in a business district. I pulled out of the lot and followed the vehicle
southbound with my overhead red lights activated and my siren blaring. The car
went through another red light at the next intersection. I radioed that I was
in pursuit of a vehicle that ran several red lights and was refusing to
stop. We continued southbound when one
of the other officers on duty tried to block the intersection we were approaching. The suspect vehicle drove around the officer’s
car as did I still following the suspect vehicle. The officer from the
intersection pulled out behind me and followed us. The suspect vehicle turned
off the main street into a residential area making several turns onto various
streets disregarding any stop signs, still not driving exceedingly fast but
faster than safe in a residential neighborhood.
The streets were relatively narrow with parked cars on both sides. I
recall hearing my lieutenant scream over the radio for us to be careful not to
hit any of the “fucking parked cars”. I kept advising over my car radio each
turn the suspect vehicle and I made. As
we were getting closer to the south end of town my lieutenant suggested we do a
rolling car stop. (The vehicle needed to
be stopped before it got to the interstate.) He would pull in front of the
suspect vehicle and I would stay at the rear. The lieutenant’s car would slow
down his speed and consequently the suspect vehicle would need to also slow down,
as would I. We both had to drive very
close to the suspect vehicle so he couldn’t drive around either of us. My front
bumper almost touching his rear bumper and the rear bumper of the lieutenant’s
car almost touching the suspect’s front bumper, Eventually all three vehicles
slowed down to a stop.
My lieutenant got out of his patrol car and walked quickly up
to the passenger side of the suspect vehicle yelling at the driver. I walked up
to the driver’s side. The other two officers were covering both of us. It was many years ago, I don’t remember
verbatim what I said, but I think it was something similar to “I was following
you with my lights and siren why in the hell didn’t you stop?” I was angry with him for putting so many lives
in danger and ignoring me, plus my adrenalin was sky high. The suspect said he “couldn’t stop or I would
find out he had stolen the car.” He said he broke the side window and stole the
car from a car lot. The suspect was removed from the car, searched and
handcuffed, I then looked into the car and saw the cracked wing window and the
cut ignition wires. I transported the
suspect in my patrol car to the police station. I read him his Miranda rights
before transporting him, which he waived, and we discussed what he did in the
car on the way. I took a written statement from him at the station, then
fingerprinted him and had him booked into jail.
The car had been taken from a car lot several blocks away
from where I first spotted the vehicle. Another officer went to the lot and
observed someone had attempted to break into several other vehicles.
You probably are asking yourself why would I chase this car
and put several lives in danger? When people run red lights they are often
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, which makes them a danger to
anyone on the streets to include themselves. They also could be in a hurry
leaving the scene of a crime. When
people refuse to stop for police officers often it is because there is a
warrant for their arrest or they have something in the car they do not want you
to see. I wanted to get this person off the streets in an effort to protect
others or discover what wrong he may have committed.
Should we allow police chases? Should there be parameters? What should they
be?
Until tomorrow,
Sally S
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