“It is sporadic. You can go a long time without a single pursuit, and then you can have two or three in a day,” Springfield Police Division Sgt. Brett Bauer said.
Both pursuits ended in crashes, including one that ended in a fatality.
“The longer a pursuit happens, and the more chances the driver takes, the more likelihood a crash will take place,” Bauer said.
The second chase happened early Saturday, just after midnight.
Roger D. James, 26, of Springfield, led police on a short chase before crashing on South Limestone Street just north of the Leffel Lane intersection.
James ran into a truck at Kemp’s floor covering business, 2209 S Limestone St., and he was pronounced dead on the scene by the Clark County coroner.
“Kind of tragic to have someone hit a truck like that,” said Marysville resident Lucas Bender, an acquaintance of James.
James had an arrest warrant for fleeing and eluding earlier in December, investigators said.
The first pursuit happened Thursday afternoon. It started when a trooper got a report of a Tahoe driving recklessly on Interstate 70. The trooper tried to stop the SUV, but it fled through Springfield before crashing at the intersection of North and Spring streets.
Marijuana was found in the rented vehicle, and the driver and passenger were booked in the Clark County jail.
Troopers are investigating officers’ decisions to pursue in both cases.
Cleaveland said officers are taught to weigh the need to apprehend the suspect against the danger the pursuit is putting other people in.
“It is very much a judgment call, and it’s a judgment call that will be reviewed down the road by other people. Officers know that and that’s just part of being a law enforcement officer,” Cleaveland said. “The best advice we can give to them is to remain calm and try not to get emotionally involved, because as law enforcement officers, when people run from us, it is our instinct is chase them no matter what.”
Many factors go into an officer’s decision to pursue a vehicle including weather, traffic, time of day and proximity to a school, Cleaveland said.
He said practice helps.
“It’s just like anything else. The more you are involved in something, the more experience you get, the more you are going to learn,” Cleaveland said.
Cleaveland said the communication between the Springfield police, Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio Highway Patrol in these types of situations is the best it has been in his 20 years at the post.
He added there is a new radio system in the works that will allow the three departments to talk to each other directly during pursuits, which should make communication even better.
About the Author