Arkansas police jump charger at 100 mph to get away from suspect,

The officer narrowly missed hitting a utility pole, then realized he may have broken the cruiser’s oil pan

Criminals evade justice every day around the world. The police were right to try to pursue them, but the methods of the pursuit were often controversial. A series of videos from Arkansas illustrate the dangers of some of these methods. In one instance, a soldier drove his Dodge Charger at nearly 100 mph (160 km/h) before the chase ended due to self-inflicted injuries.

On October 15, Arkansas State Trooper Jackson Shumate conducted a traffic stop on a Dodge Charger. For unknown reasons, the Charger initially stopped at a gas station and fled the station. Shumate was getting out of his car when the driver sped away, so by the time he got back in the car and gave chase, the suspect was already gone.

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Video from Shumate’s patrol car shows that despite driving at well over 100 mph, he never came close to catching the suspect. According to his car GPS, at one stage he hit a traffic control speed bump at 96mph (154km/h). The Dodge Charger rose into the air and then landed hard on the road.

Shumate reacted significantly and nearly hit a telephone pole. It wasn’t long before he realized something was wrong with him. “It had a big gap for me and I think I broke my oil pan,” Shumate said. According to the video description, the suspect did run away. This was not the only case where a suspect evaded capture and the ASP drove twice or even triple the speed to catch the suspect.

In another video from Oct. 20, ASP Trooper Tyler Van Schoyck is seen speeding through traffic for more than five minutes before he notices the suspect. At one point, he crashed into the oncoming lane of a 35 mph (56 km/h) residential street at speeds in excess of 80 mph (about 130 km/h). He wasn’t doing it in the middle of the night either. The chase occurred at 1:38 p.m., and when the video ends, the suspect appears to lose the officer again.

There is no doubt that police officers have a difficult job to do, some of which carries a degree of risk both to the officers and to the public they are sworn to protect and serve. On the other hand, some evidence suggests that people habitually speed when there are no obvious, verifiable suspects in view.

Furthermore, by continuing the pursuit in this manner, these officers not only risked their own safety, but potentially the safety of the public as well. Other departments across the country are using technology such as GPS trackers, drones and even helicopters to track suspects without the need for high-speed pursuits. Is this what Arkansas police are supposed to do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Image source: Hot Tracking