Wyandotte police officers must often decide whether to pursue and remove a dangerous driver from the road, or to terminate a high-speed chase which could put innocent people in harm’s way.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE – Often, police officers must weigh the risk of a high-speed chase, and the danger it poses to other motorists, against the decision to let a dangerous driver escape apprehension.
High-speed sports cars and powerful motorcycles, especially those without license plates, complicate the situation.
Deputy Police Chief Archie Hamilton shared four examples which occurred in May – three escapes and one apprehension – which illustrate the challenges police officers often face.
A silver Chevrolet Corvette traveling west on Eureka Road, east of Fort Street, at 11:47 p.m. May 1, without a license plate, caught the attention of a police officer, who followed the car as it turned rapidly onto southbound Fort Street, squealing its tires and accelerating rapidly.
As the police officer activated his lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop, the driver refused to pull over, and accelerated to more than 100 mph.
The police officer followed the driver west onto Pennsylvania Road, through the cities of Southgate and Taylor, before terminating the pursuit near Telegraph Road.
Twenty-four hours later, at 12:08 a.m. May 3, two motorcyclists racing south on Fort Street near Goddard Road, both without license plates, caught the eye of law enforcement, and both chose to flee when a police officer activated lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop.
The motorcyclists turned onto northbound Fort Street near Quarry Road, and accelerated to 100 mph as the pursuit continued, until the police officer terminated the pursuit near Southfield Road in Lincoln Park.
Two weeks later, on the night of May 18, a motorcyclist driving west on Eureka Road near 23rd Street was spotted by a police officer, who determined the plate was expired and the motorcycle was uninsured.
When the officer initiated a traffic stop, the motorcyclist instead accelerated to more than 70 mph. The officer pursued the rider to I-75 in Taylor, where the officer terminated the chase.
Sometimes, though, the drivers don’t escape.
When two police officers on patrol at 1:38 a.m. May 16 saw a motorcyclist traveling north on Fort Street near Davis Street, at a high rate of speed, who ignored their lights and siren, they gave chase, with the motorcyclist exceeding 100 mph.
However, when the motorcyclist slowed down to turn onto southbound Fort Street near Cicotte Avenue in Lincoln Park, the officer riding shotgun jumped from the patrol vehicle and grabbed the motorcyclist, removing them from their ride.
Hamilton praised the police officers’ quick thinking.
“The effort and sound decision-making displayed by these officers removed a dangerous driver from our roadway,” he said.
The motorcyclist was charged with fleeing and eluding, and operating while intoxicated.