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A man who led police in California on a chase from Claremont to Pacoima Monday afternoon was still at large more than 24 hours later, a situation that police say represents a sliver of chases that end with the suspect’s successful escape.
More often than not, police say, officers eventually take down a pursuit suspect. About 6 percent of pursuit suspects escape the blaring squad cars, police and media helicopters and, sometimes, K-9 units, according to data that includes all California law enforcement agencies, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
In 2010, there were 5,183 pursuits and of those, 341 suspects fled on foot and were not arrested.
Out of the 5,508 pursuits in 2011, 348 suspects escaped on foot. According to LAPD, that escape rate is “pretty good.”
Some notable pursuit suspects have tried to hide in plain sight.
Read more from NBCLosAngeles.com
In 2004, a man led police on a chase from Simi Valley to the Beverly Center in Hollywood where he disappeared among the shoppers before finally being caught.
The next year, a pursuit suspect ditched his motorcycle at the Glendale Galleria and blended in with the crowd.
Monday’s pursuit suspect appeared to blend into the brush. The chase began at about 4:45 p.m. in the Arcadia area when the driver of a dark-colored truck failed to stop for officers as part of a narcotics investigation.
Disappeared in trees
The driver barreled down freeways at times reaching speeds in excess of 80 mph before transitioning onto surface streets where he circled neighborhoods in Arleta and Pacoima for nearly an hour.
After driving into a dead-end alley in Pacoima, the driver jumped out of the vehicle, scaled several fences and seemed to disappear among the trees in residents’ backyards.
By Tuesday afternoon, the man had managed to evade officers for more than 24 hours. Still, investigators say evidence left behind in the vehicle and two arrested passengers make them confident they’ll catch the driver eventually.
A man and a woman jumped out of the moving truck during the pursuit and were subsequently arrested. The woman hopped out while the truck was travelling under a canopy of trees.
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It should be against the law at the Federal level to engage in the unsafe practice of chasing suspects. These high speed chases are useless, they only endanger the lives of the innocent as these cops senselessly barrel down the freeway hell bent on getting the perp to pull over. 99% of these car chases are for traffic offenses that end with some innocent civilian being injured by an out of control driver who was prompted to speed by the reckless conduct of the Police. Let the guy go and hope you got a plate number, and if you didn't then you live to fight another day. Cops can't let it go because they are suffering from little man syndrome, and this false belief that they are somehow better than the average person. Get a life and learn some restraint
over, if people knew the police couldnt chase them then that would just encourage more people to run away. As it is most stop because they realize the odds of escape are against them. Also prosecution of any crime is harder if the suspect has the chance to ditch the car. We shouldnt blame the police for the actions of irresponsible people, unless the police act irresponsible, and they do call off chases which endanger others.
"Cops can't let it go because they are suffering from little man syndrome"
What an ignorant person you are. You wouldn't dare say that to their face, would you punk.
I wonder how many runners get shot or seriously injured.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that cops suffer from little man syndrome. There are definitely some cops that are put into situations that they clearly cannot handle even if they were "trained" for it, but it isn't reckless behavior.
Police departments often put very strict rules on what officers can do while chasing a suspect. Personally I think that making officers hold back in the beginning only prolongs the chase and increases the danger. The sooner the officers have the power to take down the suspect the better off they'll be. Driving behind the suspect for an hour doesn't do much of anything.
I still don't understand why they don't allow helicopter pursuit to guide the officers so that it is not necessary to chase behind the suspect at dangerous speeds. Once a helicopter is there the police can set up all sorts of perimeters.
Sounds like an encouragement to run.......
I know that some states have implemented rules where the police need authorization to continue a pursuit if certain speeds are exceeded. This is designed to prevent the horrendous crashes that frequently occur when the speeds get exceedingly high. Particularly if there is an air asset available the police will be told to back off and they track the suspect from the air instead of risking a high speed pursuit on the road. The thing that a lot of police tend to forget is that they have an obligation to maintain safety, even in a pursuit. A police officer is not supposed to go blindly running a red light during a pursuit even with their lights and sirens on, they have an obligation to make sure that it is safe to proceed first when they violate any traffic signal or law. Too many times in the heat of pursuit they forget this. I have been through an EVOC course because I was an EMT and drove an ambulance and the one thing they drill into your head is that you have a primary responsibility for maintaining safety. If you go through a red light or stop sign and are involved in an accident, you are going to be held responsible for it. The driver of the other vehicle may get a ticket for failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, but the onus is still on the emergency vehicle driver, whether it be police or an ambulance, to make sure it is safe to proceed because people sometimes do not stop or do not hear the siren or see your lights. Having lights and sirens going does not absolve you of responsibility when you violate traffic signals or laws. Police officers also tend to get target fixation and only look at the car they are chasing instead of staying aware of everything on the road around them. This is a very dangerous thing and results in a lot of accidents being caused by police during pursuits. Too many police officers let the adrenalin get the best of them and forget abut this and fail to consider the safety of what they are doing.
Dan from Left Coast. You forgot to put a question mark intsead of period at the end of your question. Now whose the ignorant one?
Man in Chicago guns down former work associate, pursued by police, gun battle erupted, gunman shot and killed by police, 9 bystanders wounded by friendly fire. Aka police bullets. Yea pursuits always turn out for the best.
"Whose" belongs to someone. The words you were looking for were "who is". As in:
Now who is the ignorant one?
In a perfect world where there are no bad cops and no one makes mistakes, I'd much rather see the cops allowed to simply shoot dead anyone that makes a conscious decision to not stop. I listen to chases in my area and hear first hand what is going on. While many of these chases start out as "routine traffic stops", most often the perp is not stopping because they have warrants and/or have committed other significant crimes. K9s and helicopters save a lot of civilians from getting hurt.
Through the hail of bullets, the sleet of hurting and killing innocent drivers and snow, we become judge, jury and executioner and will get or execute our man, no matter the cost.
That will make bank robbery and contract killing a lot easier to get away with. Don't know where you live, but I live in Houston and getting caught by the police is one of the few deterrents that many of our citizens understand.
Do the innocent bystanders who wind up 6 feet under in a grave understand too, or do they not matter?
Tell a kid who has just lost their mother or father due to law enforcement's need to get that bank robber, dead or alive, while Wall Street and the banks go free stealing from millions.
Why would any besides a criminal lead the police on a car chase? If a cop tried to pull me over for a traffic infraction do you know what I do? I pull over. Do you know what a criminal does when a cop tries to pull them over? They pull away and try to escape.
Unfortunately, New Gawker, this world is made up of all kinds and types of people; some good, some bad. That shouldn't give anyone the right to hurt the good in order to catch the bad. Not all fish can be caught and instead of harming other fish trying to catch the one, sometimes you just have to come back another day.
Since you've chosen to place yourself in the "good" category, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
How many innocent people die in the high speed pursuits? You just have to watch the TV clips to see the horrendous crashes. Track them down the same day but chasing at 100 mph in residential areas or packed interstates in crazy.
TV clips may not be the most reliable of sources. They are after all edited, most often with the idea that we will use the clips that generate the most amount of revenue irregardless of the accuracy of their portrayal of the situation.
maybe people shouldnt break the law to begin with?
we always get our man...............aometimes
94% of the time .... eventually.
And if they just murdered, raped or robbed a bank, you think they would be easy to find? They are the crimnals, not the police. When they catch these scum bags, haul them out of the car and beat the living crap out of them, night stick preferably. It is they, NOT the police that ruined property and jeopardized lives. Deal with them in the most brutal manner and we cut it down these chases.
How do you murder or rape a bank? I've thought about murdering a bank before, but rape? That would hurt.
I suppose this article will cause more criminals to run because they will hope to be one of the 6% that make it.
Was it really necessary to report the "success" rate of criminals? Must be a really slow news day at NBC.
Hey NBC, how about a "success" story on how many murderers don't get caught. Prey they don't start trying at your house.
What was really presented was not the "success rate" of the criminals, but that of the police. 94% at least in my day, was an A.
Chasing a "criminal" blindly creates more victims. I also don't like the thought that every moment of our lives in public (and often in private now) is recorded.
I also doubt the statistics, who put them together?
Here, in Northern California (6 hours from San Francisco we shoot first, ask questions later... Even if they are unarmed.
They are armed - a car is a weapon when put in the hands of a loser moron who chooses to flee. Either the cops should shoot to kill or we have a mandatory 10 years in prison for anyone fleeing a police officer.
Oh no, video camera's holding a public service member to account and their oath? What has this cruel world come too?
Further, shooting first, and asking questions later couldn't possibly lead to Missoura's finest tasing a 16 year old kid with a spinal injury nineteen times. Yes, he was a threat right up until someone asked question's. And then his life was ruined. Scum. I've often felt that beat cops have proven they aren't capable of carrying a firearm. Sometimes, I don't even think they have the intellect necessary to even carry a taser.
These guys never get away. It is not like they always obey the law and this one time they decided to run. No these guys are doing stuff all the time. If they don't catch them this time they will the next. Crime doesn't pay.
cop in your rearview mirror,and you just read this article.
6% get away
100% of those who pull over dont.
which you going to do?
now what do you suppose will happen next?
I'd realize that any endeavor that has a 6% chance of success should be left to Ethan Hunt.
Hey Dan from Left Coast!
You forgot to use a question mark instead of a period at the end of your question?
Now whose the ignorant one?
You punk!
2fer-6787445 ignorance at it's finest. If you're going to correct someone's grammar, make sure your grammar is up to par. Who's*
I think Dan and 2fer should take turns chasing each other up and down the road.
If you are a cop, you are paid to uphold the law. That is done, in part, by arresting people who are violating the law. Would you rather the police stand by and let the law breaker go? Which ones? How do you tell the car speeding away is full of joyriding teenagers or has your daughter stuffed in the trunk?? People who are only violating traffic laws have no reason to risk trying to out run the police. The reason police give chase is because they find, through experience, that the people who try and evade police are doing so because they are criminals.
How many people not directly involved are killed or injured by cops enjoying high speed chases?
No Bob - they're killed or injured by or because of the suspect - mandatory 10 years in prison for fleeing!
94% is not a bad average. Some may call me all kind of horrid things for this, but every time I hear that a perp crashes during a chase, I am disappointed to hear that they lived.
Yes, chases are dangerous, but the fault is never on the police. Never. The one deciding to run is the only one responsible. I doubt there is a cop past or present who wants an innocent person hurt or killed, or their property damaged because of a chase. They are simply reacting to a situation not of their choosing. Forbidding chases would serve no purpose, as the bad guys would run every time the cherries came on. Every time. Nobody wants to be arrested, and will do what they can to prevent it. The more serious the crime, the more likely they will try to run. I think most police departments do a pretty good job during chases. A better solution is to do everything possible to improve their driving skills. Send them to schools and teach them to be nearly as good as NASCAR drivers! Teach them a thorough understanding of how a car does what it does and why. Add to this, better observation skills. A typical racer really doesn't care what is right in front of them, they are watching much farther down the track than a car length or two in front of them. Anything that close, it's too late to react. Personally, when on the highway, I am watching up to a 1/4 mile ahead, as well as right up close, so I know I will have ample time to react and avoid something. It's not that hard.
They should either allow the cops to end it by shooting the suspect or there should be a mandatory 10 years in prison for anyone fleeing from the police.
Ooh yeah, police state...That DOES sound like fun. Try Reduction to the Absurd to measure just how moronic your statement is. If the end result still sounds pleasing to you, then I guess you might just be a little off your rocker.
I've ditched the cops four or five times when being chased for traffic offenses. To be successful you have to be on a motorcycle and head for a really congested area to filter out the cop car, or if you're in a car go for areas the cop can't negotiate, like sidewalks and back yards. If the cop is on a motorcycle, it's almost impossible.
Yeah,sounds like fun.
The bad part is if you wreck a motorcycle in a high speed chase that organ donor sticker on your license is useless.
That being said in the interest of fairness I must add I ride a CBR 600, not the baddest thing around but it does get me where I'm going:)
I have to be perfectly honest here...I'm not a criminal, no felonies, probably a tad too many four points, but that's 15 over anymore. Anywho, I do love when they put their little pig arounds too close to the exits. Yes, if I can evade a BS ticket, I will. Chances are though, if it's a straight away, I will stop. It's whatever, same idiot game played since highways and before COPS was a TV show. Probably not going to change anytime soon.
Most people become cops because if mental issues as young children, they couldn't make it in the real world as ordinary bread winners, so they feel they need to dictate how people should live there lives. Fact is the majority of law enforcement is corrupted.