WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Four of the best-selling Ford 150 pickup trucks were stolen from a Woodhaven shipping yard Tuesday night, leading to a police chase through multiple cities.
The men accused of stealing the trucks took several different police departments on chases throughout the area.
"Wyandotte, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, River Rouge, Detroit," Wyandotte Police Chief Archie Hamilton said of the areas they traveled through.
Watch dash camera video of one of the pursuits below:
A suspect drove 80 mph on residential roads, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic through multiple cities, the chief said.
"This suspect causes all kinds of carnage, right. It could've been much worse. We damaged a police car, he endangered many, many lives on the road, he endangered these officers,” Hamilton said.
Some law enforcement agencies stop chases that go out of their jurisdiction, but Wyandotte police continued pursuing.
Body camera video shows police arrest suspect in F-150 theft:
"Yeah, you know, unfortunately, a lot of agencies do have restrictive pursuit policies or no pursuit policies — they won't even let their officers chase. That is the wrong message we want to send criminals. The message we want to send criminals is if you run from the police in a vehicle, you go to prison and the police aren't going to stop pushing you," Hamilton said.
The multicity chase started with four 2025 Ford F-150s being stolen from the shipping yard on Vreeland Road. Woodhaven police were the first of many agencies to respond.
While Woodhaven police were responding to the shipping yard, officers from surrounding areas started seeing the stolen vehicles.
"On Fort Street near Vinewood, one of our sharp officers spotted one of the stolen Ford Raptors. When he spotted this Ford Raptor, he was already driving at an excessive speed," Hamilton said.
Hamiliton says officers Groat and Gardocki tried to pull the suspect over for a traffic stop, and that's when the chase began.
"They're coming down like a train is coming," Hamilton said.
Hamilton says the chase lasted about 13 minutes and ended with a crash in Detroit.
Groat and Gardocki arrested the man who was suspected to be behind the wheel.
"We taught that young man a very good lesson. He can tell his friends too. In fact, I hope all of Wayne County Jail, anyone who is in jail right, I hope they're watching this story and they can watch this video and they can learn this valuable lesson too because police aren't going away, especially here in Wyandotte. Don't do it," Hamilton said.
A spokesperson with Ford told us:
"We are cooperating with the local police in their ongoing investigation. We cannot provide additional information at this time."
Police say all four stolen vehicles have been recovered and one man is behind bars.
