BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – It was a high speed chase involving a robbery suspect and multiple police agencies spanning two counties.
A 29-year-old man from Lansing was brought to the Calhoun County Jail Sunday night where he face charges of running from police and resisting arrest.
Police say he’ll face charges in other communities in Michigan after allegedly stealing a car and robbing a bar, before leading police on a chase where speeds reached 110 miles an hour.
Michigan State Police Trooper Dan Thayer said even when the chase was over the suspect didn’t give up easily.
The trooper said he’s been in his share of chases during his 17 years on the job, “There is a faction that is not going to stop and we are going to do everything we can to stop them.”
On Sunday, Oct. 13th around 8:00pm, Trooper Thayer would get involved in the chase as it was crossing from Jackson County into Calhoun County.
The trooper along with a sheriff’s deputy from Calhoun County set out to cut the chase off at the intersection of M-60 and Old US 27.
“We had two sets setup,” he said. “So we had him pretty well focused so he had to go through those in order to get around us.”
Over the radio, Trooper Thayer heard the driver had already gone around one set of stop sticks near Homer.
But he said as the suspect came to the intersection where they set up the stop sticks, “It appeared at that point that he had given up because he stopped before striking either set of our stop sticks.”
The car stopped but he still wasn’t in custody yet, “We heard speeds of 110 miles an hour and you don’t have any idea. Even if you know the person, you don’t know what kind of mindset he could be in at the time. He might have just had an argument or he’s under the influence of some type of chemical. You just don’t know other than they don’t want to be stopped,” said Thayer.
The trooper said he, along with the deputy, ordered the driver out of the car.
“He just sat there with what we call the 1000 yard stare and not responding what-so-ever,” said Thayer.
The trooper showed us his bandaged hand. He said they tried to break the car window with a baton and a flashlight.
“Eventually he did respond and unlocked the door, which allowed us to remove him,” he said.
The trooper said his injuries were minor. He was back at work Monday. We’ve been told the deputy also on hand to make the arrested suffered a minor injury when his foot was run over by the suspect’s car.
The driver never put it in park before being pulled from the car and placed under arrest.
