Dashcam footage of a dramatic chase involving law enforcement in Minnesota pursuing a rape suspect who skipped a court hearing has finally been made public. While the car the suspect was in isn’t that exciting – it’s just a Saturn Ion – the chase itself is quite the pulse-pounding ordeal.
Off-roading in New Zealand looks like a slice of heaven.
The dramatic pursuit started as a regular traffic stop involving Anoka County Sheriff’s Department. An officer ran the plate, which is standard procedure, and it came back that the driver had an active warrant issued just a few weeks before. Obviously, the guy knew this and was determined to not go to jail, so he took off and didn’t hold back.
Police started by trying to spike the tires, which seemed to not be effective. Then the suspect hit another car, tearing off his rear bumper cover, demonstrating that he absolutely was willing to put the lives of others at risk to get away. Somehow, we’re not surprised.
As the guy wove through more traffic, an officer laid the perfect trap and successfully spikes at least some of the car’s tires. Then officers successfully did a PIT and a few hard hits on the Saturn, but this suspect showed pure determination and kept flogging that Ion like a mule even as it was literally falling apart.
He got another PIT and decided to show everyone the little car can drive in the grassy median just fine. At least it did for a bit, but either the guy realized he was caught or the little Saturn gave out, because he just suddenly stopped.
We’ve said many times before that trying to run from police in a gutless wonder, which this Saturn absolutely is, can be one of the dumbest decisions you make. This guy would’ve been far better off giving up when he was contacted by law enforcement.
Instead, as officers have guns drawn and he’s pretty much surrounded, he took off again. One officer who parked his SUV right in front of the Saturn was ordered to move so there wasn’t a dangerous crossfire, but it would’ve been wiser had he just left his vehicle and walked over to where everyone was. That might have kept the suspect from running more.
By now we’re getting a nice ad about how tough GM made the Ion as it keeps getting battered by police SUVs yet somehow just keeps going. Officers learn from their previous mistake and box the guy after smacking his ride around some more.
The final resolution of this chase is chaotic and it sounds like the court proceedings were pretty interesting with a surprising result that might help explain the suspect’s sheer determination during the chase.
+ There are no comments
Add yours