By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE — A 38-year-old Wyandotte man led police officers on a multi-city high-speed chase the morning of June 14 following an attempted traffic stop in the 600 block of Ford Avenue for his alleged theft of a firearm in the city of Detroit.
When the suspect initially pulled over, he signaled to the police officer to walk toward his vehicle, a ruse to give himself a chance to speed off. The officer instead ordered the man, through his loudspeaker, to turn off the vehicle, which the man refused to do. When police backup approached the location, the man decided to speed away.
The man then led police officers on a high-speed chase through Wyandotte, Lincoln Park and Detroit, at speeds exceeding 100 mph, ignoring traffic signals, until he abandoned the vehicle in a vacant lot and fled on foot, eluding capture.
Deputy Police Chief Archie Hamilton urges lawmakers to establish harsher penalties and mandatory prison sentences for those who endanger public safety while fleeing from law enforcement.