As we look forward to the new year, it’s a good time to look back at some of the best police chases caught on camera in 2021.
Mounted dash cams have become invaluable to police departments for recording evidence of stops, chases and any other incidents that may occur in the car’s vicinity. But as YouTube has shown, this type of footage can also attract millions of viewers, providing them with a thrilling and eye-opening window into police work.
So whether you’re an officer looking to further your learning or simply a fan of exciting, real-life footage, here are some of our favorites from the past year.
A POLITE CHASE IN THE SNOW
On December 8th, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin police officers pursued a fleeing vehicle through streets covered in a light dusting of snow. The police had been called to a Speedway gas station for a complaint regarding retail theft. The officers located the vehicle near North Green Bay Avenue & West Hampton Avenue and started their pursuit. The vehicle fled, clearly struggling at times with the icy conditions.
But our favorite part? From about 2:20 in the video, the reckless driver makes a sequence of turns…while thoughtfully using their turn signals.
It’s good to know that following some rules of the road remain important to this driver, even while evading the police, speeding on icy roads, and endangering lives!
SPIKE STRIPS WORK
Our next video starts in Ottawa County, Ohio and passes through Erie County, Lorain County and Cuyahoga County. The footage comes from an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser that joined a high-speed pursuit involving a pickup truck on April 14th 2021.
At the start of the video an officer can be seen deploying a spike strip, which the target pickup truck runs over. The driver of the truck tries to keep driving on what must be rapidly deflating tires. At around 5 minutes into the video you can see sparks start to fly as he continues the escape on his wheel rims. These only get worse, and it becomes clear even to the driver that there’s no way he’s getting away from his pursuers. The driver ditches his vehicle and tries to escape on foot, where he was later apprehended and taken into custody.
THREADING THE NEEDLE
On April 15th, 2021, Michigan State Police were in pursuit of Jeremy Thrasher, a man wanted in relation to a shooting that had occured 2 days prior. Despite a number of vehicles trying to box Thrasher in while he was stopped at a Marathon service station, he managed to escape and lead the officers on a chase through Kalamazoo.
The 10 minute chase saw Thrasher driving the wrong way down busy one-way streets, with the State Police close behind. Thresher managed to shake his pursuers, but only briefly. He eventually crashed his vehicle and tried to escape on foot, but he was pursued, caught and arrested.
PIT, PIT, PIT AND PIT
In Florida, Deputy Shon McGuigan witnessed an incident of reckless driving by a man later identified as Matthew M. Richardson. The Deputy saw a gold Chevy Suburban plow through a stop sign coming off the interstate, strike a curb and drive into the oncoming lane of traffic, and then began fleeing from Deputy McGuigan when he activated his lights and siren. It later turned out that Richardson was on probation for a prior DUI, and was a suspect in an identical incident in Marion County earlier in the day involving the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and FHP.
The Deputy, along with another patrol vehicle, tries to stop the fleeing Suburban a number of times. But despite connecting with the vehicle in a number of PIT maneuvers (pursuit intervention technique), Richardson is tenacious and won’t stop his vehicle.
Eventually, Deputy McGuigan makes good contact with the rear left quarter of the fleeing vehicle and causes it to spin off the road and stop. Richardson was arrested and charged with Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement, Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Driving While License Suspended/Revoked, Reckless Driving and violation of probation charges.
STAY SAFE OUT THERE
This is just a small selection of the many, many incidents that happened in 2021. Kustom Signals Inc salutes the efforts of the officers keeping our roads safe this year and every year, and wishes you all a happy and safe 2022.