January 2022 Hit of the Month: Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office – Florida

“Hit of the Month” is Stop Stick, Ltd. 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 safely bring pursuits to an end. Below are the departments who were nominated from the hundreds of submissions, and the ones who have been selected as the “Hit of the Month”.

JANUARY 2022 HIT OF THE MONTH WINNER

SOUTH

Deploying Officers: Corporal Downing, Sgt. Martin Jennings, Deputy Kristopher Staley

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office  – Florida

Pursuit time: 18 Minutes
Speed: 71-80 MPH
Miles covered after Deployment: 2
Number of Tires Flattened 4
Make: Mitsubishi Eclipse

Okaloosa County Sherriff’s Department Responded to calls that several suspects were shooting at cars in a residential area. While responding they located a vehicle that matched the description fleeing the area. Deputies attempted a traffic stop, but the suspect vehicle sped off. The passengers of the vehicle tossed a 9mm handgun out the window as the car reached speeds of 110 MPH while driving into oncoming traffic. Corporal Downing Managed to be the first in a position to deploy Stop Sticks managing to make successful contact with the suspect’s vehicle, however, the suspects continued to flee at high speeds.1 mile after hitting Corporal Downings Sticks, Officer Staley set up additional Stop Stick Devices again giving the suspects another reason to give up. 3 more miles up the road Sgt. Martin Jennings deployed the third set of Stop Stick devices, again making a successful deployment and managing to deflate the remaining tires. The suspects would give up trying to flee 2 miles after the third deployment and were taken into custody with minimal resistance.

Suspects are facing Charges of – Discharge of a firearm in public, possession of a firearm by a felon, driving without a license, Obstruction, Tampering with evidence, possession of ammo by a felon, fleeing and eluding, resisting an officer, a third passenger was charged with an outstanding warrant of failure to appear to a prior incident.

Reference Article:
https://www.wkrg.com/northwest-florida/okaloosa-county/shots-fired-call-leads-to-police-pursuit/

January 2022 Nominees

East Region

Deploying Officer – Officer Keating
Arlington County Police Department  – Virginia

Pursuit time: 11Minutes
Speed: 100+ MPH
Miles covered after Deployment: 3
Number of Tires Flattened 4
Make: Hyundai Tucson

Arlington County PD initiated a pursuit after attempting a traffic stop on the suspect’s vehicle which had been identified as stolen. The Suspect fled police for 11 minutes before deploying officer Keating was able to make a successful hit flattening 4 of the suspect’s tires bringing the pursuit to a close within 3 miles of the deployment. The suspect was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, Possession of injectable cocaine and fentanyl, felony in possession of a firearm, reckless handling of a firearm, and several other charges pertaining to their possession of a weapon.

West Region

Deploying Officer – Officers C. Smith & R. Velasquez
Snoqualmie Police Department – Washington

Pursuit time: 20 Minutes
Speed: 90-100 MPH
Miles covered after Deployment: 6
Number of Tires Flattened 3
Make: Honda Accord

Snoqualmie PD attempted to stop a suspect seen doing 90mph in a 35 zone. After refusing to stop for officers a pursuit was initiated, the pursuit lasted for 20 minutes  Officer C. Smith and R. Velasquez Both managed to get into separate locations ahead of the pursuit and make successful deployments flattening 3 of the suspect’s tires and causing the end to the pursuit. It is noted that at least 1 of the deployed set of sticks was the old style with lockable endcaps. The suspect was charged with Reckless Driving, Obstruction, Driving with a revoked license, and fleeing and eluding.

Midwest Region

Deploying Officer – Sgt. Tom Watson
Marshalltown Police Department – Iowa

Pursuit time: 21  Minutes
Speed: 41-50 MPH
Miles covered after Deployment: < 1
Number of Tires Flattened 2
Make: Chevy Avalanche

A suspect took multiple agencies on a pursuit after Officers identified the suspect’s vehicle as stolen. Taking them through multiple jurisdictions at a relatively low-speed pursuit reaching speeds of roughly 41- 50 mph. Marshalltown officer Sgt Tom Watson managed to position himself ahead of the pursuit as it entered Marshalltown Deploying Stop Stick and successfully deflating 2 tires. The suspect would bail on foot and would be quickly caught without further incident.  The Suspect was charged with Theft of a motor vehicle, OWI, Drug Possession, Fleeing and Eluding, and other additional traffic charges.

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

You can additionally 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