BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Dramatic dash cam video shows the moment a man stole a police cruiser and lead officers on a dangerous pursuit through residential streets, according to WJW.
The pursuit started in Beachwood and ended on Stoer Road and Lomond Boulevard in Shaker Heights. Beachwood police released video compiled from five different cruisers.
On March 1st, around 2:30 p.m., Beachwood police responded to Chagrin Boulevard and Green Road when an officer spotted a stolen pickup truck pulling into the parking lot, according to WJW.
The driver jumped out and ran. One officer stopped his cruiser and chased 26-year-old Master Nathaniel Simpson, but he doubled back and jumped into the officer’s unlocked, running vehicle.
“I’ll shoot you; I’ll shoot you (expletive). Don’t do it; don’t (expletive) do it,” the officer can be heard screaming in the video.
Simpson then barreled down a dead-end street and drove the cruiser up an embankment. Beachwood police omitted video of officers firing shots at the cruiser, which was struck and disabled, but the driver backed up and kept going.
Behind the wheel of the cruiser, Simpson was often seen driving erratically on the wrong side of the road, blowing through stop signs and red lights.
“He’s not going very fast right now,” one officer was heard over the police radio.
The pursuit headed into Shaker Heights, where Simpson stopped several times pretending to surrender, but then pulled away. Police were intent on catching him since high-powered weapons were still inside the stolen cruiser.
“Units be advised, he’s trying to get the rifle out of the center console; he is trying to get the rifle,” said one of the pursuing officers.
Another officer was heard asking permission to perform a PIT maneuver to stop the fleeing cruiser. The maneuver was successful and officers pulled Simpson from the vehicle, tackled and arrested him.
Bond was set at $100,000 for Simpson. Two Beachwood police officers suffered minor injuries in the chase.
