News

December Hit of the Month 2022: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office [CO]

February 28, 2023

By: Zach Madden

Hit of the Month: December

The winners and Nominees for Stop Stick’s Hit of the Month for October 2022.
“Hit of the Month” is Stop Stick, Ltd.’s program to recognize truly outstanding performance results coming from the successful deployment of Stop Stick® Tire Deflation Device in ending pursuits. Every month hundreds of reports are received from across the country documenting successful deployments of Stop Sticks®. These reports detail stories of exceptional police work and proper deployment of the Stop Stick® Tire Deflation Device to bring pursuits to an end safely. Below are the departments that were nominated from the hundreds of submissions, and the ones who have been selected as the “Hit of the Month”.

Winner:

South

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Castle Rock, Colorado

# of tires deflated: 1 (R_Front)
Pursuit Speed: 71-80 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 23 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: 2
Target Vehicle Make: 2014 Buick Encore
Deploying Officer(s): Sgt. Richard Swartz

Sgt. Richard Swartz’s Stop Stick deployment earned December’s Hit of the month.

Sgt Swartz deployed 12ft sleeved Stop Sticks on a white SUV that was reportedly involved in a hit-and-run with a Colorado Springs patrol vehicle. In addition to the hit and run the suspect had a female and a small child that were unwilling participants in the pursuit.

Douglas County Deputies were able to locate the fleeing vehicle and coordinate a position along the route the vehicle was traveling to deploy Stop Sticks. Sgt. Swartz was able to get into a safe location to deploy his Sleeved 12ft Stop Sticks on I-25 around Lincoln Ave, making a successful deployment puncturing the front passenger side tire, causing the fleeing suspect to gradually slow down until they came to a complete stop roughly 2 miles after the vehicle came into contact with Sgt. Swartz’s Stop Sticks.
After deputies were able to bring the suspect vehicle to a stop the female passenger and child were able to exit the vehicle safely, however, the suspect refused to obey the deputy’s commands resulting in a standoff that temporarily shut down I-25. The suspect made several indications that he was armed and was not going to comply with law enforcement, after the brief standoff, deputies were able to take the suspect into custody with the assistance of less-than-lethal tactics. The suspect is facing charges of 2nd-degree kidnapping, vehicular eluding, criminal mischief, violation of a protection order, child abuse, DUI, and several other various charges in connection to the pursuit and standoff.

We chose Sgt. Swartz of the Douglass County Sheriff’s Office as Decembers 2022’s Hit of the Month. Due to the unique circumstances surrounding this pursuit and interdepartmental communication between the Colorado Springs Police and Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt Swartz was able to position himself out ahead of the oncoming pursuit, positively identify the suspect vehicle, and make a successful deployment that resulted in the direct capture of the fleeing suspect and the safe recovery of a young child and female passenger that wanted no part of the events that were taking place. Sgt. Swartz’s deployment potentially saved lives and brought a close to a dangerous pursuit with an intoxicated suspect who had no regard for the general public, passengers in the vehicle, and law enforcement.

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Nominees

MIDWEST

Kent County Sheriff’s Office
Grand Rapids, Michigan

# of tires deflated: 2
Pursuit Speed: 31-40 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 20 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: 3
Target Vehicle Make: Kia Seltos
Deploying Officer: Deputy Garrett Dill

Deputy Dill earned a nomination for December’s Hit of the Month for his deployment on 3 out of 4 suspect vehicles that had been stolen and were reported to be involved in a string of vehicle break-ins and thefts. Kent Co. Deputies were patrolling the area of 60^th St. near Kalamazoo Ave. due to multiple reports of residents’ cars being broken into and stolen. Deputies saw three vehicles matching the description of recently stolen cars, enter an apartment complex at a high rate of speed. Deputies on scene requested backup and just as one of the Kent County Sergeant approached the three vehicles, a fourth suspect vehicle passed the sergeant’s vehicle sparking a pursuit. Deputy Dill was able to position himself just ahead of the pursuit as it was starting and deployed Stop Sticks, successfully flattening 3 out of the four vehicles’ tires. After the successful Stop Stick deployment the 4 vehicles separated 1 vehicle driven by a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old was successfully stopped and taken into custody, while the other two disabled vehicles were found abandoned a short distance from where they were disabled. The other suspects are still at large and the fourth vehicle wasn’t able to be located.

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EAST

Oakboro Police Department
Oakboro, North Carolina

# of tires deflated: 2
Pursuit Speed: 120+ MPH
Time of Pursuit: 10 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: 2
Target Vehicle Make: Dodge Charger
Deploying Officer: Sergeant Bryce Kaus

The Oakboro Police Department’s Sergeant Kaus earned our Nomination for Hit of the Moth for December 2022 for his deployment, assisting N.C. Stat Troopers pursuing a stolen Dodge Charger traveling at speeds of 120+. Sergeant Kaus was successful in flattening the vehicle’s front tires resulting in the direct termination of the pursuit, and apprehension of the fleeing suspects. Video provided by the Oakboro Police department shows that Sergeant Kaus, pre-deployed Stop Sticks at a safe location that provided a safe escape route while communicating with the pursuing agencies by notifying them that Stop Sticks were deployed and that a successful hit was made after he had cleared Stop Stick from the road.

WEST

Klamath County Sheriff’s Office
Klamath Falls, Oregon

# of tires deflated: 1
Pursuit Speed: 61-70 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 33 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: 5
Target Vehicle Make: 2019 Toyota 4RUNNER
Deploying Officer: Deputy Shasta Duval

Klamath Co. Sheriff’s Deputies responded to reports of an individual wearing a bulletproof vest making threats with a handgun. The suspect left the scene prior to the deputy’s arrival at the scene where the suspect was last seen. Thanks to the assistance of other drivers encountering the suspect’s vehicle Deputies were able to respond and locate the vehicle as it traveled on Highway 140.

Klamath Deputies pursued the vehicle for 12.7 miles before Deputy Duval was able to successfully deploy Stop Sticks flattening the rear passenger side tire. The suspect vehicle fled for another 5 miles attempting to throw their firearm out the window before coming to a stop. Deputies were able to take the suspect into custody without further incident and recover the firearm. The suspect is facing a long list of charges including:
Felon in possession of body armor

Felon in possession of a firearm

Unlawful use of a weapon

Pointing a firearm at another

Menacing

Burglary I

Felony attempt to elude

Reckless driving

Reckless endangerment.

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To register for Stop Stick® Hit of the Month, please submit a Deployment Report using the Link: https://stopstick.com/deployment-report/

You can be considered for Video of the year by uploading Dashcam, or Bodycam footage after submitting your Deployment Report.

If you know an officer who should be nominated for Hit of the Month please submit a pursuit report: https://stopstick.com/home/pursuit-reporting