Saturday, April 24, 1999
Chief wants road spikes to slow fleeing suspects
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MONROE — Police Chief Ernest Howard wonders if the outcome of Tuesday's high-speed, fatal chase and crash might have been different if his officers had portable road spikes.
Chief Howard can't be sure the spikes — commonly known as “stop sticks” — which flatten tires gradually, would have allowed his officers to stop the fleeing suspect earlier and avoid the accident.
But next time, he wants the chance to find out.
The chief said he wants to buy stop sticks, used by many area police departments, for three cruisers. “It will cost about $1,200 for three sets,” the chief said. “That's a lot out of my budget. ... But when you need them, they're invaluable. They can certainly save lives.”
High-speed chases endanger many lives, Chief Howard said.
“The public is at risk, the officers are at risk, the perpetrator is at risk — that's too many lives at stake,” he said. “In this situation the other day, if our officers had backed off, the guy could have just gone on to commit another crime.”
On Tuesday, Tony Potter, 33, of Batavia, allegedly broke into a house on Todhunter Road in Monroe, taking jewelry and other items. A neighbor spotted his truck and notified police. Mr. Potter fled south on Interstate 75, and sped away when a state trooper tried to stop him for speeding near the Ohio 63 interchange. He drove to Interstate 275, and eventually wound up on Cincinnati-Dayton Road, where the chase — which reached speeds of about 100 mph — ended when Mr. Potter lost control of his vehicle and it flipped. He was thrown through the window.
Lt. Timothy Bally, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Hamilton Post, said the suspect fired at a trooper but missed. Chief Howard said he belives the suspect also shot at him as he passed. A .45-caliber pistol was found in Mr. Potter's vehicle.
Butler County deputies did get stop sticks down in one area, but Mr. Potter took a different route, said Sgt. John Hunkler.
“They definitely work if you get there in time to get them set up,” Sgt. Hunkler said.
Officers said the sticks' effectiveness is determined by many variables, including amount of traffic and the chase area. They are not always the answer, but are valuable tools.
“They have been very effective for our department,” Lt. Bally said. “We have stop sticks for all our cruisers. If Monroe had had them Tuesday, they might have helped.”
Chief Howard thinks they might have changed things.
“But they're not foolproof. You have to be in the right place to deploy them,” the chief said. “I just think it would be good to have them, to at least have that choice.”
Interventions don't help only the alcoholic
Tristate schools act upon threats
Teens: It could happen here
What do you think
Counselors' plea: Open hearts to kids
Light rail could bore through Mt. Auburn
Millennium lot cleared, awaits tower
Crime victims find a friend
Prosecutors' victim/witness assistance programs
Cyberspace threats tracked down
Grandson's band serenades woman on 97th birthday
Justin's birth parents sue their attorney
Y2K highlights our dependence
Campbell Co. official, under probe, resigns
Drunken-driving suspect on bond
Teens arrested in pellet shootings
Ballet's 'Butterfly' turns heartbreak into beauty
GET TO IT
Jazzy soloist shines as CSO alters image
Cemetery ties Lebanon to pioneer times
Chief wants road spikes to slow fleeing suspects
Church will honor retired Rev. Booth this Sunday
Court looks at police probe
Court orders retrial in sisters' murder case
Fernald to have new DOE manager
Foundation honors tree program
Grandparents find help raising kids
Man hurt in crash fleeing police
Mason water, sewer fees rise
Police find 26 guns in car; 5 arrested
Rielage is Ohio's fire marshal
Scouts collecting food, clothes Sunday
TRISTATE DIGEST
