The suspect in a police chase that resulted in a fatal crash Sunday had slowed so much near the end of the pursuit that he was traveling 30 mph, hesitated at intersections and even used his turn signals.
Although the suspect, Paul W. Lovelace, 25, of Springfield Township, was captured on foot in Cincinnati's East End, the arrest was made by a Taylor Mill police officer, who had followed him into Ohio from Kenton County.
Information released Tuesday by the Taylor Mill Police Department shed new light on the final moments of the pursuit.
The chase has drawn attention because Cincinnati Police Officer Gregory Berting violated policy trying to catch up to the pursuit by going through a stop sign at Central Avenue and Produce Drive.
He slammed into a car near Cinergy Field, killing the driver, Michael Tenhundfeld, 18, of Delhi Township, and injuring two passengers.
The funeral for Mr. Tenhundfeld will be Thursday. Petrina "Trina" Dixon, 17, his girlfriend, also from Delhi, was alert and talking to friends Tuesday night at Children's Hospital Medical Center. A third passenger in their car, Lisa Carter, 18, of Walnut Hills, remained in critical condition Tuesday at University Hospital.
Taylor Mill Officer Patrick Reis said in a report to his chief that the car he was chasing was in Cincinnati only briefly when the driver began to slow down.
Officer Reis, who had been pursuing the car since it entered Taylor Mill from Wilder on Interstate 275 at 7:15 p.m., was apparently the closest officer to the car as it snaked throughout Cincinnati. He captured Mr. Lovelace 18 minutes later.
In his report, Officer Reis says he spotted a Cincinnati officer ahead of him at one point, but says traffic made it impossible for that officer to follow when the suspect left River Road and headed south toward the river.
From then on, Officer Reis' report indicates, he was the only officer directly behind Mr. Lovelace as they drove - still not speeding - through city streets and east on Columbia Parkway.
About 7:33 p.m., he notified Kenton County dispatch that he was ending his pursuit and turning off his lights and siren.
Mr. Lovelace was arrested at 7:36 p.m., by Officer Reis' account, after Mr. Lovelace bailed out of his car along Eastern Avenue. The officer says he chased him on foot, tackled him, then brought him out of the woods and handed him over to Cincinnati officers, who by then had arrived at the scene.
Taylor Mill Chief Steve Knauf said Officer Reis, 27, a two-year member of the department and former Xavier University police officer, behaved exactly as he should have in the chase.
The officer took one day of administrative leave after learning of Mr. Tenhundfeld's death.
"We stand by our officer and think he did a good job," Chief Knauf said. "But he's really taking it kind of hard."
Another Taylor Mill officer and a unit from Wilder also pursued Mr. Lovelace north on Interstate 75 toward Cincinnati, but they lost the car in traffic after it exited on Buttermilk Pike and then got back on the highway.
Officer Reis, however, was able to get in the fast lane and stay with Mr. Lovelace, Chief Knauf said.
Mr. Lovelace remains in the Hamilton County Justice Center. He faces charges of fleeing and eluding, receiving stolen property, failure to stop at a red light and not wearing a seat belt.
PROSECUTORS CONSIDER CHARGES
PURSUED MAN RACKED UP OFFENSES
TENHUNDFELD VISITATION TODAY
Previous stories
COP IN CRASH RAN STOP SIGN June 17, 1997
COPS' PURSUIT RULES VARY June 17, 1997
DIAGRAM OF THE CHASE June 17, 1997
TYPICAL DAY, TRAGIC NIGHT June 17, 1997
HIGH-SPEED POICE CHASE FATAL June 16, 1997
