WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — On August 31, around 3:45 a.m., Wyandotte Deputy Chief of Police Archie Hamilton said their team, "got a call in the 400 block of Fourth Street that we just had a car stolen."
An officer spotted the stolen car driving down Goddard Street and attempted to perform a traffic stop.
Dashcam video shows that when the officer attempts to make the traffic stop, another car seems to purposely interfere and get in between the police officer and the stolen car.
When the second car interferes, the original stolen car accelerates to get away.
"And this is also common practice," said Chief Hamilton.
In the video, you can see the officer maneuvering around the interfering car to chase the stolen vehicle.
Moments later another officer would begin to chase the car that interfered, turning out to be another stolen vehicle.
Both stolen cars were taken from Wyandotte residents.
Talking about high-speed police chases Chief Hamilton said, "This is the most dangerous activity and the most common dangerous activity."
The dashcam video shows officers speeding through neighborhoods and over commercial properties to stop the thieves.
"High-speed pursuits over the last 2-3 years are up, anecdotal, I’m gonna say it’s up 1,000%. We’ve had 8 high-speed pursuits in just one day, just here in Wyandotte," said Chief Hamilton.
The two suspects in the first car finally jumped out and ran away on foot, letting the car roll onto a person's property.
The two suspects in the second car also jumped out and ran away on foot.
Of the four suspects, one was apprehended and arrested, Chief Hamilton said many were put at risk.
"There are people out there that have seen police pursuits go down their streets, they’ve seen them zip by them, nearly hit them," said the Chief. "They will tell you how scary it was because it’s extremely dangerous."
Chief Hamilton said he believes legislation needs to change to bring high-speed chases to a stop.
He said he'd like to see a mandatory prison sentence of 2 years for fleeing from police in a vehicle.
"High-speed pursuits are out of control and crimes out of control and the reason why is criminals know there’s no consequence from running from the police," said Chief Hamilton
