News

June Hit of the Month 2023: Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office [NC]

November 2, 2023

By: Zach Madden

Hit of the Month: June 2023

The winners and Nominees for Stop Stick’s Hit of the Month for June 2023.
“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:

East

Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office
Concord, North Carolina

# of tires deflated: 4
Pursuit Speed: 100-110 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 36 Minutes (2 separate pursuits)
Miles Traveled after deployment: 5
Target Vehicle Make: Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300
Deploying Officer(s): Deputy J. Rodriguez

Deputy Rodriguez of the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office has earned June 2023’s Hit of the Month for his deployment of Stop Stick in 2 separate pursuits taking place simultaneously resulting in the termination of both pursuits and capture of both fleeing suspects.

On the evening of June 14^th, 2023, deputies from the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office, NCSHP, and Rowan County Sheriff’s Office found themselves involved in 2 separate 100+ MPH pursuits of individuals driving erratically.

The first pursuit was initiated by the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and involved an individual fleeing in a white Dodge Charger. As Rowan County Deputies struggled to pursue the individual they called for assistance from the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office to help terminate the pursuit.

Deputy Rodriguez responded to the pursuit assistance request and was cleared to use Stop Sticks, Deputy Rodriguez positioned himself ahead of the pursuit and deployed his Stop Sticks.

As the pursuit approached Deputy Rodreguez’s location Stop Sticks were pulled into the road making positive contact with the suspect’s vehicle effectively disabling the vehicle and allowing Rowan County Deputies to resume control of the pursuit and take the individual into custody.

Just as Deputy Rodriguez began to return his Stop Sticks to his patrol vehicle and provide assistance to the Rowan County Deputies, another pursuit call from the NCSHP came out over the radio calling for assistance in their pursuit of a Black Chrysler 300. The second vehicle was already headed in Deputy Rodriguez’s direction and was less than 5 miles out, with his Stop Sticks already in hand Deputy Rodriguez redeployed his Stop Sticks and made a second successful deployment deflating all 4 of the Chrystler’s tires with the used set of Stop Sticks, causing the second subject to end the pursuit 6 miles later

We’ve selected Deputy Rodriguez as our Hit of the Month winner for June, his clear judgment, quick thinking, and collaborative communication with 2 agencies involved in two separate high-speed pursuits resulted in the successful deployment and termination of both pursuits and stands as a testament to the effectiveness of Stop Sticks even after they’ve already been used.

Nominees

Midwest

Pontiac Police Department
Pontiac, Illinois

# of tires deflated: 2 (R/Front L/Front)
Pursuit Speed: 81-90 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 3 Hours 12 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: < 1 Mile
Target Vehicle Make:2017 GMC Terrain SLE
Deploying Officer: Ofc. Gary P. Lisewski

Ofc Lisewski has earned a Nomination for June’s Hit of the Month for his Stop Stick® deployment during a lengthy pursuit originating out of Livingston County.

Fairbury Police originally initiated the pursuit after locating a vehicle that was reported for DUI and erratic driving, after initiating a traffic stop, the suspect vehicle began to flee at a high rate of speed tearing through the streets of the town. Due to safety concerns, Fairbury PD terminated the pursuit. Once the suspect reached the edge of town, Livingston County Deputies picked the pursuit back up. It wasn’t until the suspect reached the city of Pontiac that law enforcement was able to take control of the situation.

Pontiac Officer Gary Lisewski positioned himself ahead of the oncoming pursuit and was able to safely deploy his Stop Sticks, the suspect too preoccupied with the flashing lights behind him didn’t see Ofc. Lisewski’s Stop Sticks ahead of him hit them, flattening both front tires, effectively disabling the vehicle and causing the suspect to bail out

After running into a cornfield, Officers were able to successfully locate the individual and take him into custody without any further incident.

The suspect was charged with Possession of Meth DUI, and Driving with a suspended license.

Supporting Article: https://www.wjbc.com/2023/06/06/creve-coeur-man-in-custody-after-four-hour-long-pursuit-monday-morning-in-livingston-county/

South

Weld County Sheriff’s Office
Greeley, Colorado

# of tires deflated: 1 (R/Front)
Pursuit Speed: 41-50 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 1 Hour 13 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: 5
Target Vehicle Make: Dodge Ram
Deploying Deputy E. Lase

Deputy Lase of the Weld County Sheriff’s Office has earned a nomination for June’s Hit of the Month for his deployment on a suspect who ran from several agencies while driving into oncoming traffic.

The Pursuit was initiated by Fort Lupton Police after a call was made reporting that the suspect appeared to be driving under the influence and causing danger to the general public.

The suspect managed to evade capture for over an hour causing multiple agencies to pick up the pursuit. It wasn’t until Deputy Lase, and the Weld Co. Sheriff’s Office got involved that law enforcement was able to regain control of the situation.

After over an hour into the call, Deput Lase deployed Stop Stick® and was able to successfully deflate the front passenger tire on the suspect’s vehicle causing the suspect to ditch their vehicle at the first available gas station. After foot bailing the suspect attempted to continue to evade Law Enforcement by hiding in the gas station bathroom where officers and deputies quickly caught up to him and too the suspect into custody.

Deputy Lase has earned our nomination for his deployment, without the use of Stop Sticks, it was clear the suspect had no intentions of stopping and would have continued fleeing, putting countless drivers in danger.

West

Wyoming Highway Patrol
Cheyenne, Wyoming

# of tires deflated: 2 (L/Front, L/Back)
Pursuit Speed: 100-110 MPH
Time of Pursuit: 23 Minutes
Miles Traveled after deployment: 4
Target Vehicle Make: 2022 Dodge Charger
Deploying Officer: Sgt. Adam Powell

Sgt. Adam Powell of the Wyoming Highway Patrol has earned a Nomination for June’s Hit of the Month for his deployment on a DUI Driver.

The pursuit originated when Sgt. Powell clocked the suspect speeding at 133 mph in a 75 mph zone. As Troopers caught up to the speeding vehicle it appeared the driver was complying and pulled off the highway into a parking lot. As the trooper pulled into the parking lot, the suspect drove off leading the trooper on a high-speed chase.

The suspect wouldn’t get so lucky though while the suspect originally stopped in the parking lot before initiating a pursuit, Sgt. Powell managed to instinctively reposition himself and deploy Stop Sticks.

The suspect eventually came into contact with Sgt. Powell’s Stop Sticks deflating both driver-side tires. Not ready to give up the suspect attempted to ditch evidence as they continued to flee, tossing out several bags of what appeared to be controlled substances and a gun. Eventually, the suspect pulled into a Walmart parking lot and attempted to flee on foot however with Wyoming Highway Patrol hot on his trail the suspect didn’t get very far and was able to take the individual into custody.

After successfully taking the fleeing suspect into custody troopers found several open bottles of alcohol, two large bags containing controlled substances, as well as several magazines and ammunition. The suspect is facing charges of reckless driving, possession of a controlled substance, speeding, fleeing, and DUI.

Supporting Article: https://kgab.com/driver-clocked-at-133-mph-%20on-i=80-in-wyoming-arrested-after-chase./?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_mediup=referral

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