Tempe Police Use a Grappler to Stop a 142-MPH Corvette Rampage

Tempe police have released body cam footage showing how officers finally caught up with a Corvette driver who allegedly tore through city streets at 142 mph, a chase that took two nights and a specialized piece of police tech to end without a crash.

Night One: A Very Loud, Very Public Stunt

It started September 9, when a white C8 Corvette screamed across the Mill Avenue Bridge, its exhaust echoing over Tempe Town Lake loud enough that residents jammed 911 with complaints before officers even arrived. The driver, identified by police as Mazen Alassmari, wasn’t just speeding, according to authorities; he was allegedly filming his own stunt while doing it, which is about as far from subtle as a high-speed run through downtown gets.

When motorcycle officers attempted to pull him over that night, the driver allegedly blew through the stop signals, ran multiple red lights, and disappeared into the dark, leaving police without a suspect in custody.

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Night Two: The Grappler Does Its Job

The following evening, the same car reportedly showed up with the same theatrics, but this time patrol units were ready with a grappler, a device mounted to the front of a cruiser that fires a tether around a fleeing car’s rear wheel. Once it latches on, it drags the vehicle down to a controlled stop rather than the violent stop a PIT maneuver or spike strips can sometimes produce.

It worked exactly as designed. The Corvette was reeled in cleanly, the driver was taken into custody without a crash, and the car was towed to impound. Police later released the footage specifically to demonstrate how grappler technology can end a high-speed pursuit without the collateral risk that comes with more traditional chase-ending tactics.

Why This Matters Beyond One Corvette

Whatever the final legal outcome for the driver, who at this stage faces allegations rather than a conviction, the broader lesson is simple: a packed downtown corridor isn’t a racetrack, and treating it like one at 142 mph puts far more than the driver at risk. In this case, technology intervened before anyone uninvolved paid the price for it, which is exactly the outcome departments deploying grappler systems are hoping to replicate on the next call like this one.

About the Author

Shawn Henry

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Shawn Henry has spent years writing about cars, and it shows—not in a resume kind of way, but in how he talks about them. He's the type who'll notice the weird trim option nobody remembers and actually know why it mattered. At Backfire News, he covers pretty much the whole spectrum: off-road trucks and trail builds, performance cars, racing, and the collector market. He's comfortable getting into the technical weeds, but he never forgets that most people read about cars because cars are fun, not because they want a spec sheet. His beat runs from classic and collector vehicles to overlanding culture, modified performance builds, new automotive tech, and the industry news that actually affects what ends up in your driveway. Mostly, though, Shawn thinks the best car stories are about people—the builds they pour money into, the road trips, the communities that form around a shared obsession. That's the stuff he likes writing about, and it's what you'll find in his work here.

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