Police Pursuits, Jesus and the Cross and Action
Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2012
by Steve Kovacs
The Kovacs Perspective
Police officers like pursuits. At least young ones do. Pursuits have loads of action and you’re chasing a bad guy. After all, people become cops for action, getting the bad guy and to a lesser degree, helping people. When I was a young cop, I loved pursuits and had several that were memorable.
I was about 22 and working the afternoon shift when I first saw him. I was patrolling the steep hill called Brewery Hill when I saw a man walking up the hill carrying a huge, heavy, wooden cross. And I do mean a huge cross, like Jesus was said to have carried before he was crucified. This thing was bigger than the 20 something year-old was who was lugging it up the hill. I did a double take when I saw him. He had the cross-flung over his shoulder just like Jesus is commonly depicted when carrying the cross he was forced to carry.
I asked the man what he was doing and he told me that he was walking home. When I asked him about the cross, he told me that he was carrying it as Jesus did, to show his love for Him. He told me he lived about eight miles away. It was obvious that he was pretty much nuts. I’m sorry that I’m not being politically correct here but he was obviously way off bubble. Being a young cop and being low in the decision making responsibility area that baby cops are in certain circumstances or when supervisors are available, I called a boss. I told him what was going on and he interviewed the cross carrying man who had long flowing dishwater blond hair and a great peaceful looking smile. The supervisor said that he wasn’t hurting anyone and he let him just walk away carrying that big old cross. I pulled away kind of scratching my head. I didn’t think I’d ever see the guy again. Boy was I wrong!
A few weeks later while patrolling on a midnight shift we received a call from our dispatch that a police department bordering our city was in pursuit of a car thief. They told us that a man had a domestic dispute with his family and jumped in some stranger’s car and started pulling out of a driveway. The police arrived as he was trying to get out of the drive and he crashed into them while backing out. Then he crashed into another car in front of him. Then he put the peddle to the metal and started running from everyone—the chase was on.
I had no clue who the driver was but he was coming towards where I was patrolling. I waited for the car and a few short seconds later, I heard the roar of the car and sirens behind it. The vehicle flew past me at a high rate of speed with one police car in pursuit. I hopped in behind the police car and joined the chase. We were now going down Brewery Hill where I had met the cross carrying guy. The car was driving at a very high rate of speed and took a right turn down River Road. River Road is a straight road and had little traffic. Further down the road the driver blew through a stop sign at a dangerous intersection at about 80 miles per hour. There were tons of sparks when his car bottomed out. His car also left the ground as he literally flew through much of the intersection. If there had been a car coming from the other way someone would have been killed. The pursuit should have been called off right then and there for safety reasons but back then, things were different. I was right behind them, loving every second of the pursuit.
The pursuit continued at speeds over 100 miles an hour and we went through a business area. One cop said he was going to shoot the tires out as he was pulling up along side him. A supervisor hollered over the radio not to shoot at his tires. The driver of the car was driving so fast and so recklessly that so far, it was a miracle no one had been killed. It was around 1:00 AM so there wasn’t much traffic, but still he was driving very dangerously. By this time, we had gone through about five separate police jurisdictions and we had more cops in pursuit than I could count.
One department set up a roadblock and when it was clear the car was going to crash right through it, they moved their cruisers and took a shotgun shot at the car. That may have shaken the driver up because at the next intersection at another roadblock he crashed his car. We all dove out of our cruisers and grabbed the driver. When I saw his face, I was shocked. It was the cross carrying happy looking man. He was fighting like crazy and a female officer chimed in with some soothing talk that slowed him down as he was being restrained. He was hollering that Jesus loved him, loved everyone, and that life was so good. It took about four cops to put him in the back of a cruiser. I had one of his legs and others had other parts of his body that they were carrying. The female officer was walking along side of us trying to comfort him and was doing a good job of it.
I never followed up with what happened to the man. I never saw him again. Nevertheless, I had my first pursuit and loved it. I had several more pursuits that are memorable throughout my career and liked being involved in them all. However, police pursuits have changed a great deal throughout the years and for good reasons. Many innocent bystanders have been hurt and killed during pursuits and changes were needed.
Years after the pursuit, I became a supervisor. I would never have let that cross-carrying man just walk away. I would have interviewed him more intensely, possibly got his family involved and possibly, if need be, would have signed him into a mental hospital for an evaluation. Hindsight is 20-20. Luckily, no one was hurt. I hope he went on to get help and is now a happy, healthy, well-rounded person.
I was about 22 and working the afternoon shift when I first saw him. I was patrolling the steep hill called Brewery Hill when I saw a man walking up the hill carrying a huge, heavy, wooden cross. And I do mean a huge cross, like Jesus was said to have carried before he was crucified. This thing was bigger than the 20 something year-old was who was lugging it up the hill. I did a double take when I saw him. He had the cross-flung over his shoulder just like Jesus is commonly depicted when carrying the cross he was forced to carry.
A few weeks later while patrolling on a midnight shift we received a call from our dispatch that a police department bordering our city was in pursuit of a car thief. They told us that a man had a domestic dispute with his family and jumped in some stranger’s car and started pulling out of a driveway. The police arrived as he was trying to get out of the drive and he crashed into them while backing out. Then he crashed into another car in front of him. Then he put the peddle to the metal and started running from everyone—the chase was on.
I had no clue who the driver was but he was coming towards where I was patrolling. I waited for the car and a few short seconds later, I heard the roar of the car and sirens behind it. The vehicle flew past me at a high rate of speed with one police car in pursuit. I hopped in behind the police car and joined the chase. We were now going down Brewery Hill where I had met the cross carrying guy. The car was driving at a very high rate of speed and took a right turn down River Road. River Road is a straight road and had little traffic. Further down the road the driver blew through a stop sign at a dangerous intersection at about 80 miles per hour. There were tons of sparks when his car bottomed out. His car also left the ground as he literally flew through much of the intersection. If there had been a car coming from the other way someone would have been killed. The pursuit should have been called off right then and there for safety reasons but back then, things were different. I was right behind them, loving every second of the pursuit.
The pursuit continued at speeds over 100 miles an hour and we went through a business area. One cop said he was going to shoot the tires out as he was pulling up along side him. A supervisor hollered over the radio not to shoot at his tires. The driver of the car was driving so fast and so recklessly that so far, it was a miracle no one had been killed. It was around 1:00 AM so there wasn’t much traffic, but still he was driving very dangerously. By this time, we had gone through about five separate police jurisdictions and we had more cops in pursuit than I could count.
One department set up a roadblock and when it was clear the car was going to crash right through it, they moved their cruisers and took a shotgun shot at the car. That may have shaken the driver up because at the next intersection at another roadblock he crashed his car. We all dove out of our cruisers and grabbed the driver. When I saw his face, I was shocked. It was the cross carrying happy looking man. He was fighting like crazy and a female officer chimed in with some soothing talk that slowed him down as he was being restrained. He was hollering that Jesus loved him, loved everyone, and that life was so good. It took about four cops to put him in the back of a cruiser. I had one of his legs and others had other parts of his body that they were carrying. The female officer was walking along side of us trying to comfort him and was doing a good job of it.
I never followed up with what happened to the man. I never saw him again. Nevertheless, I had my first pursuit and loved it. I had several more pursuits that are memorable throughout my career and liked being involved in them all. However, police pursuits have changed a great deal throughout the years and for good reasons. Many innocent bystanders have been hurt and killed during pursuits and changes were needed.
Years after the pursuit, I became a supervisor. I would never have let that cross-carrying man just walk away. I would have interviewed him more intensely, possibly got his family involved and possibly, if need be, would have signed him into a mental hospital for an evaluation. Hindsight is 20-20. Luckily, no one was hurt. I hope he went on to get help and is now a happy, healthy, well-rounded person.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Steve, Too bad that other police officers do not think as you did. Many times when I am watching the news, I say out loud, "didn't anyone get that he was mentally ill and needed help?" Why do they wait until something awful happens? Are they in a state of denial? What about the family? Don't they know the person needs help and is capable of hurting others?
These are the questions that always go through my mind. Too bad they wouldn't let you follow through on the "Jesus" guy.
Great article, Steve. Thanks for sharing.Truthfully Fran, quite often they do know there are mental issues and they do try to work on that or help with that. The media does not give the whole story quite often, or they do not know the whole story to report. I know that for a fact as I have been involved in cases where I knew the facts of my cases and the media got it incorrect or got it only half correct. Cops are getting better in most things everyday just as most professions are. More education, better training etc etc--just like with most professions. Thanks for reading!!Hi Steve, I always enjoy reading things you write! My son is a Police Officer and is in his thirties and has come across a few people as you so eloquently put it that were nuts and thats putting it mildly.And you are so right the media rarely gives the public the real story. For all the reasons you listed and then some and i hate when the media makes the Police Officers look bad ..My son has been in a few pursuits that he will always remember too.Anyway my final comment would be that the majority of Police Officers will go out of their way to do the rigt thing.And i,m not just saying that because my only son is an Officer.Thanks My Friend!!!Thanks Cindy--Some pursuits cops never forget--it's like on TV but more persoanl. As for your son, I wish him safety and thank you for your nice comments!
Steve
That guy needed help by the way he carried the cross no normal people would do a thing like that in broad daylight. Funny was, you guys met up and had a hot pursuit. His mental should be the culprit.
I too, hope he got over his problem and lived happily, thereafter.
Yes, no normal person would do what he was doing. Hopefully, he is fine...he's probably a politician in the USA--just kidding..................
Very interesting article, and it reminds me of what a Pastor said about thirty years ago. I had asked him about some behavior of a person claiming to be a christian and he said: "When a schizophrenic becomes a christian, what you have is a schizophrenic christian." I think your guy fits into that description.
Accepting Christ does not make a person physically or mentally well...it can, but that's a different discussion.
I agree that 'hot pursuit' is dangerous, and usually not a good idea if no one's life is in immediate danger...we have had innocent people die here.I didn't mean to imply that he had anything really to do with Jesus or God. Not at all, he was just disturbed and could have obsessed on anything. I like the pastors comments though.
Pursuits are dangerous and need to be well manged. I knew a cop who accidentally killed a person who was stopped at a red light when the cop, during a pursuit hit and killed him. The cop was never the same afterward.
Nice article Steve. This is an extremely important and not easy to conclude balancing act. To pursue or not to pursue, and many considerations are involved and will be debated as long as time and law breaking exist. Technology is helping immensely in this area and soon should have the ability to mechanically disable the vehicles fleeing so as to prevent the peripheral destruction that may occur from vehicular pursuits. As far as detention for the purposes of evaluation of mental capacity and an individuals probability of future harm to himself or others is also very entangled in law but must be critically evaluated in terms of freedom of movement and the states ability to restrict this movement as I'm sure even those of us that are deemed by society to be sane is a matter of opinion and who's opinion should take precedence in these matters. Isn't that after all not the measure of freedom in it's most basic sense?Extremely well written Dave. I agree that pursuits are ever evolving.
As far as freedom in its most basic sense--yes, but there are people walking the streets who are so out of it that it should be and as a matter of fact is the responsibility of others to help them and also those they may possibly harm. I have "pinked slipped" (legally signed people into psychiatric hospitals for 48-72 hour evaluations). Who decides their sanity or their chances of hurting others or themselves? Professionals, physiatrists ...is it perfect, no but something has to be in place for people who seem to be a danger to themselves or others. Thanks David.
Obviously you're right Steve and I agree there are those tasked with public safety that should take action as you suggested maybe you should have with the cross-guy, for lack of a better term, for example. I was just referencing that the line between public safety and the Orwellian pursuits of those in power should also be closely examined and guarded against for the preservation of a true democracy and free society that I'm sure even you would agree is tenuous at best and always under attack from those that feel a free society is one that they have determined it should be and have the resources to affect. Guantanamo Bay is an example of what is possible in the extreme and is and should be debated as to it's rightful or helpful place in a free society and one where even simple acts of government dissidence may wind up without the right to legal defense. Just sayin".I agree with you my friend!
Very funny story, Steve! Pretty sure that's not what Jesus meant when he said, "..take up your cross and follow me."
Bruce always says he figures no one judges human character like cops and pawn shop owners...I think pawn shop owners are better--ha-ha--what a great comparison from Bruce. You have a good sense of humor Jean--made me smile--thanks.
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