Portsmouth Police were involved in a wild police chase on Tuesday night but the department isn’t releasing any details of the incident, going so far as to white out that part of Tuesday’s police logs and then go over it again with a pen.
Because of the redacted reports, SCDN can’t tell you the official police version of the incident, but our team was monitoring the scanner traffic at the time and we do know the incident started with a complaint that a man was refusing to leave the parking lot of the Counseling Center.
Officers tried to detain him at gunpoint, but he got into his vehicle and fled the scene. The man fled through the downtown area and rammed an officer’s car before police intentionally hit the suspect’s car to stop him. They then deployed a stun gun and a police dog to take him down.
That’s called a PIT maneuver and is only used when police fear for public safety. Officers took the fleeing suspect out at 11th and Gay in an effort to keep him away from major intersections.
Right now, we don’t know why police consider the incident so sensitive that they blotted out the details, but this is often because an incident is part of an ongoing investigation, and they aren’t willing to give out details until it’s finished.
But, since many citizens no doubt witnessed the chase and its aftermath, SCDN thought you deserved to know what we know.
Hear the harrowing incident and full police response.
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The 50-year-old Portsmouth man was taken to SOMC for treatment. A woman claiming to be an SOMC employee provided details about his injuries in a Facebook post. However, since that has not been confirmed by law enforcement, we won’t go into detail. But it does appear that his injuries were minor as he was subsequently released and then booked into the Scioto County Jail on charges of failure to comply with a police officer, resisting arrest, and having weapons under a disability.
He was previously arrested for a felonious assault charge back in 2008. Thus far, no court date is listed for him in Portsmouth Municipal Court.
