First foot bail.. Funny story

[miketheberkeleygrad]

I've been off FTO for about (2) months now and have had a couple physicals/wrestling matches, but no foot pursuits.

I was working swing shift this Saturday when I got dispatched to a suspicious vehicle driving around a neighborhood. Dispatch advised a silver 2-door Honda was circulating a neighborhood, and that the driver, an HMA wearing a blue shirt, had been seen drinking beer inside the vehicle.

I do an area check and see the Honda zip past me going the opposite direction on a residential street. I immediately do a U-turn and follow the Honda. The Honda accelerates, makes and abrupt turn onto a side street, and then comes to an abrupt stop in front of a residence. By this time I have my lights on and my cover unit is a few seconds behind me (he had to do a 3-point turn).

As I pull up, I see a 5'5", 320 lb. HMA - he was extremely obese - jump out of the driver's seat and run into the backyard of the residence. I immediately jumped out and ran after him yelling "Police, stop!" I was so surprised I didn't even think to get the radio traffic out.

The HMA ran into his backyard and barricaded his body weight against the gate, blocking me from getting into the backyard. I threw my shoulder into the gate (3) times, and on the third attempt the HMA fell backwards. I got one cuff on his right wrist, but he pulled away and resisted so I couldn't get the other cuff on. I pulled him toward me and shoved him face first into the fence, and the fence literally collapsed. He falls forward and I'm eventually able to get the other cuff on (I had to double-cuff him because he was so big).

The residence turned out to be his; he broke his own fence.

My beat partner eventually showed up, took one look at the guy, and started laughing.

As you can guess, the guy reeked of booze and I ended up getting my first DUI on top of a 148.

All in all, the whole situation was absolutely hilarious. This was a learning experience for me. Thought I'd share with you guys.

[allen_gamble]

Sounds like fun.

The worst is when you're giving the suspect description and you utter the descriptor "heavyset" as you pant into the radio. And then everyone is asking why you were all out of breath after chasing that fat kid. Adrenaline does funny things.

[mdrdep]

I had a partner that yelled out, "Run fat boy, run" when a obese individual took off running. He just followed him at a leisurely jog until the individual fell down.

[miketheberkeleygrad]

I had a partner that yelled out, "Run fat boy, run" when a obese individual took off running. He just followed him at a leisurely jog until the individual fell down.

LMAO!

Unfortunately, we have body cameras running, and if the admin saw us saying something like that, it might not turn out too well…

[RR_Security]

Yeah, but if that video ever makes it to World's Dumbest..., somebody will add the comment for you.
I think it was Brian Callen who threw in "Run, little fatty, run!" on a video of a rotund individual who was attempting to flee on foot. The suspect might have gotten further by rolling away.

[okgr2056]

Lucky you! My first foot pursuit was of a 18 year old black male in nothing but shorts and tennis shoes. He was not overweight at all and we later found out he had just graduated and was going to go to college on a track scholarship. Fastest person I have ever chased! Thank god I could keep him in sight until his sprinting ability ran out and my endurance allowed me to catch up.

[allen_gamble]

Lucky you! My first foot pursuit was of a 18 year old black male in nothing but shorts and tennis shoes. He was not overweight at all and we later found out he had just graduated and was going to go to college on a track scholarship. Fastest person I have ever chased! Thank god I could keep him in sight until his sprinting ability ran out and my endurance allowed me to catch up.

Running fast is a survival skill in the neighborhoods some of these kids grow up in. Some of them may be extremely fast despite never having competed in organized athletics.

[11B250]

when I chase heavier weight people, I yell "imma get you! imma get you!"

my trainee and I had a good one too. We chased down a 80 YO male run away from the fire rescue guys full on sprint. Was the funniest thing of this month.

[miketheberkeleygrad]

when I chase heavier weight people, I yell "imma get you! imma get you!"

my trainee and I had a good one too. We chased down a 80 YO male run away from the fire rescue guys full on sprint. Was the funniest thing of this month.

Stage fire and ambulance for a broken hip!

[11B250]

Stage fire and ambulance for a broken hip!

You've never seen an old man run like this! This is also the same man who swung an umbrella at our chief. He still had it when we went out with him! lol

[Blackhawk10]

My first foot chase was on FTO. I was driving and the FTO was in the passenger's seat when officer's ran past us chasing the suspect. I bailed out and out of muscle memory locked the car door... problem was it was a Chevy Caprice. The doors won't pop open when locked if you pull on the inside handle when you pull on it. I could hear my FTO swearing up a storm as he was trying to get out the door!

[allen_gamble]

If I hadn't seen this scenario play out a couple times, I probably would have made the same mistake:

You pull over a car for a traffic violation. It's occupied multiple times. The driver bails. You give chase and catch him. He is not wanted and has nothing illegal on his person. You get back to your car, and the suspect vehicle is nowhere to be seen. You chased the rabbit and caught him, but WHAT did you let get away?

[Litz]

I had a foot bail/pursuit on FTO as well. I was standing at the subject vehicle and my FTO was in the passenger side of the squad. Rear seat passenger bails... he was 6'2" M/B and ran like he was in the NFL. I gave foot pursuit and he was gaining distance on me with every stride. Here comes my FTO in the squad, wide open throttle, lights and sirens... it was like music to my ears. Dude cuts left suddenly onto another street and my FTO turns hard left to follow. The SUV squad wasn't quite nimble enough, slid out, hit the curb and blew the front tire. Suspect stopped immediately and proned out. When I was cuffing him he said he thought sound of the tire blowout was us shooting at him! Too funny.

Returned to the location of the stop, and of course the vehicle and all other occupants was gone. I learned to pick... do I want the vehicle or do I want the person running. It's hard to end up with both unless you've got immediate backup.

[BNWS]

I can remember 3 occasions while in foot pursuit where I yelled "YOU'RE GONNA GET SHOT"( I was bluffing) and the perp stopped dead in his tracks and gave up. I can actually remember many more where it made them run faster.

[eaglewrench]

I have only had one good foot chase.
A few years back I was wrapping up my shift at 4am when I was nearly struck head on by a vehicle. Thankfully he swerved back into his lane and I dove into parking lot. I whip around to see the suspect vehicle making a hard left on to a dirt trail. He flies down the rutted and bolder strewn trail until he crashes and bails. I run up, hear him splashing through the swamp, and the chase is on. Keep in mind this is April in Alaska. Not warm!
I keep him in sight while I slog through a pond, creek, bushes, and more swamp. All the while I am calling it out on the radio, hoping the other (off duty) officer in our little town is getting dressed quickly. In the end I find him in the middle of the swamp face down in freezing cold water trying to hide.
First thing he says as I cuff him up is, "Did you get the driver?". Pretty sharp thinking, if I do say so. Not sharp enough because he eventually pled guilty to DUI, Fail to Stop, Resisting Arrest, and Assault.
I was soaked from the waist down, my body camera never worked right again, and my boots smelled like swamp water for weeks. Worth it!