It takes a train to stop a police chase......


I remember seeing a post on the MR forum of that first video (it happened in GA or FL, right?). Apparently a cop tried to pull him over earlier in the day for some traffic violation, and he decided to flee. He hid for a few hours, then they saw him again and went after him. They chased him for quite awhile until the crash. AFAIK, the passengers were not criminals. Nobody is even sure exactly why he was fleeing in the first place...?
 
The vehicle vs train accident occurred in Florida. As I remember the story, the pursing units had already backed off and the helicopter had taken over. That was our policy in most pursuits. In this case, the suspect knew the helicopter was following him and was looking for the chopper and not at the road when he plowed into the standing train. I think the driver had a warrant for driving while suspended and DUI. The passengers didn't have warrants but all had previous drug and alcohol related violations. Never did hear what the blood alcohol was on the drive but you can be sure he wasn't sober.

I've had people run from me for everything from a minor warrant for speeding to two guys who (unknown to me at the time) had just robbed a bank and shot a teller. Pursuits are always controversial. There are people who would like to see them stopped because of the deaths and injuries involved. In jurisdictions lucky enough to have a helicopter immediately available, that works, reducing the danger but still keeping the suspects in sight. Most jurisdictions don't have a helicopter so they need to make a decision about whether to continue the pursuit. If we knew in advance that the suspect had a minor warrant, we'd just let him go, Unfortunately, they could also be someone like the guys I was after, who were armed and had just committed attempted murder. I don't know what the right answer is but pursuit driving used to scare the crap out of me. :(
 
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