Ride Along and High Speed Chase!

Last night my police buddy picked me up around 10PM for a ride along. Cruising around we ran a random plate(1st one) with expired tags from 2008. The lights flipped on and the driver pulled into a grocery store parking lot. Typical stop. Then the driver hits the gas and guns through 2 stop signs and an intersection. Now the sirens are on and we are doing 90 in a 35. Helicopters are out and several other units are racing to the chase. This guys car starts to pull away (the cop car was surprisingly slow) and we end up getting blocked by other cars. Chase the guy for 3 miles or so and eventually can't keep up with him.

Long story short the guy ends up getting caught. Turns out he is a minor and it was not his car but a family members he borrowed. He gets arrested with felony evading and reckless driving. Sadly the kid really seemed to not care and ends up in Juvenile Hall. His reason for running. . . wasn't sure if the car had insurance. I bet he had drugs in the car or something but who knows. Had he caused an accident where someone was killed he would of gotten a mandatory 25 years to life. It was intense.

I keep thinking about the choice he made. Had he stopped he would not have even gotten a ticket because it was not his car. And that's what it comes down to. . . a choice. I guess all you can hope for is that it was a wake up call. I doubt it based on his attitude.

The rest of the night was a burglary attempt at a home where the people are on vacation. Pulled over 2 other people who had DUI priors and expired tags. It is amazing how many DUI's are on the road. Actually it is more scary and pathetic. Props to the cops for getting those idiots off the road.

The saddest part to the night was a girl who had her feet up on the dash board when the car struck another (the driver was DUI). The airbag deployed completely snapping her ankle. The paramedics said more than likely she is going to have it amputated. Had her feet been down she would have walked away from it. She's in her early 20's. So I guess that lesson about keeping your feet down from the dash is for good reason.

Being a police officer is sort of like fishing. You don't know what you are going to get. The car chase could have been a parole who would have gone back to jail. He could have gotten out of the car firing. It turned out to be a kid making a stupid choice. Each incident is a big question mark.

The entire night I kept thinking about my brothers and the kids I teach. It comes down to the choices we make. A simple choice can be the difference between great extremes.

Support your local police, they risk their lives every day.