A 20-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man is in police custody after leading officers on a high-speed chase across Johnson County late Monday night.
Sergeant Joel Yeldell, a spokesperson for Olathe Police, says that an officer initially attempted to make a traffic stop at about 11 p.m. for a vehicle with an equipment violation. That driver refused to stop for the officer.
Recorded radio traffic indicates that the attempted traffic stop happened at 11:04 p.m. near the intersection of Santa Fe Street and Chestnut Street, just east of the Johnson County Courthouse and Olathe City Hall.
The driver continued north on Chestnut and then west on Spruce Street as the officer followed.
“The officer did not pursue. However, the vehicle returned, swerving at the police officer,” Yeldell said. “A pursuit was [then] initiated for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.”
Officers chased the vehicle, a Suzuki Grand Vitara, west on Spruce Street to Kansas Highway 7, where the driver attempted to speed off northbound.
Radio traffic states that the pursuit continued north on K-7 to K-10 and east to Interstate 35, where they turned northbound.
Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers joined the chase on I-35.
Speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour at several points along the pursuit north into Kansas City, Kan.
“The officer successfully deployed the grappler system near northbound I-35 and 7th Street,” Yeldell said. “The suspect’s vehicle came to a rest, and the driver, a 20-year-old male, was taken into custody.”
The Grappler is a device designed to quickly immobilize a fleeing vehicle by deploying a net from a police car’s bumper that can warp around the rear wheel of a fleeing vehicle, preventing it from turning. The net, anchored to the police vehicle, is supposed to slow down a fleeing suspect vehicle until it eventually stops.
Radio traffic indicated that the use of the Grappler stopped the SUV at 11:24 p.m.
The suspect refused to get out of his SUV and attempted again to drive away. Officers approached the SUV and took the man into custody at 11:39 p.m.
The northbound lanes of I-35 were closed at the Southwest Boulevard exit for about 20 minutes as police arrested the man.
Johnson County court records show the suspect will make his first appearance before a judge this afternoon to be charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor, all related to the pursuit: aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, reckless fleeing from law enforcement, interference with law enforcement, and misdemeanor reckless driving.
No injuries were reported during the incident
