Image via PoliceActivity/YouTube
We’ve seen police chases involving U-Haul trucks, among other odd vehicles, but this is the first time we’ve seen one driven in reverse as suspects desperately try getting away. It’s an interesting strategy for what we would call a suboptimal getaway car.
Cop pits a fleeing Land Rover right into a family.
The dramatic dashcam footage comes out of Omro, Wisconsin and was recorded on the evening of July 15. What preceded it was a man placing an ad on Facebook Marketplace for a car. The two suspects arrived in the U-Haul ostensibly to look at the used vehicle.
However, not too long after one of them produced a gun when a fight with the car owner began. The victim was shot at least once and was injured otherwise in the struggle. That’s when the two suspects fled in the U-Haul truck.
Knowing the suspects are armed and dangerous, having already shot one person, police aren’t about to let them get away. Instead, they chase the moving truck hard, ensuring the suspects are brought to justice.
During the chase, one officer successfully deflates at least one of the U-Haul’s tires using a Stop Stick. With traction on the road lessening, the moving truck is vulnerable to a PIT maneuver from another officer.
That flips the vehicle 180 degrees. Rather than just giving up, the driver throws the truck into reverse and starts going backwards as if he’s going to still get away from police. People can get desperate, unpredictable, and irrational in chases, making them dangerous to law enforcement.
As the guy tries reversing through a left turn, the lead officer goes in for another PIT and keeps pushing the U-Haul. With the help of others, they pin it and stop the ridiculous chase.
However funny the reversing U-Haul looks, the suspects inside were obviously a big threat to the safety of the public. Thankfully they were arrested and taken off the streets before they shot anyone else.
Image via PoliceActivity/YouTube
