8 arrested, including man who hit Dayton officer, during patrol aimed at stolen vehicles

One of the incidents included a man with multiple felony warrants who was reportedly driving a stolen truck.

When officers found the vehicle, it initially stopped and a woman ran from the truck, Beane said. A male passenger got into the driver seat and fled, hitting an officer.

Due to the severity of the incident, police decided to pursue the truck. They used stop sticks, which flattened one of the tires, but the man continued to drive and eventually crossed into Indiana, Beane said.

Indiana troopers also used stop sticks, but the man continued driving despite significant damage to the truck until he lost control and went into a ditch.

Dash camera footage shows a semi truck appearing to force the truck off the road into the median.

“Once the suspect went into the ditch he still failed to come out of the truck,” Beane said. “He actually lit up a cigarette and was sitting there ignoring our commands.”

Police broke a passenger window and then the suspect surrendered.

The man could face felonious assault of a police officer, failure to comply and receiving stolen property charges in addition to the felony warrants, Beane said.

The officer who was hit by the truck had minor injuries and was able to be treated by medics at the scene.

“He’ll probably be pretty sore,” Beane said. “He’s very lucky the injuries weren’t more severe.”

A second incident Wednesday included a stolen vehicle that fled from Dayton officers before stopping outside the Mall at Fairfield Commons. The two suspects ran inside but were arrested shortly after.

Beane noted that witnesses at the mall were able to help police locate the suspects.

While it isn’t uncommon for suspects to flee from police, Beane said people in stolen vehicles almost always flee.

“The one common thing we see is they flee. We know they’re going to flee,” he said. “It is very rare for a stolen car to stop.”

Because those fleeing often drive recklessly, endangering officers and the public, police have to weigh whether it’s worth pursuing the vehicle or using other means.

Officers will use stop sticks and license plate recognition technology or have detectives follow vehicles. The Ohio State Highway Patrol’s aviation units can also assist.

“Pursuits are inherently dangerous so we try to avoid them as much as possible,” Beane said. “We’ve found that even when there’s no longer any officers behind the vehicle they will drive upward of 100 mph for up to an hour with no police officers behind them. They will even change vehicles and get into a different vehicle and still continue to drive recklessly with no reason to.”

Though anyone fleeing from police may drive recklessly, Beane added juveniles don’t always have the road experience or skills to handle driving at faster speeds.

Police will contiue to arrest suspects and recover vehicles as they’re stolen, but the lieutenant urged people to take steps to make it harder to become a victim.

Beane encouraged people to not leave their keys in vehicles and lock car doors. People can also use a steering wheel lock or have GPS.