A motorist who fled on foot after police suspected him of dangerous driving was caught and arrested in Whitley Bay on Thursday night – with a little help from a bike belonging to a passer-by.
Northumbria Police say that the driver, who initially accelerated away from officers before fleeing his car, was apprehended after a “quick-thinking PC” borrowed a bike from a local and set off in pursuit.
The incident, which happened in the North Tyneside seaside town of Whitley Bay shortly after 11pm on 5 January, occurred after police spotted a “Skoda of interest” travelling in the area.
“Officers instructed the vehicle to pull over, but instead the occupant hit the accelerator and made off, travelling at high speed,” Northumbria Police said on social media. “We tracked the car’s movements before it soon came to a stop, and the occupant made off on foot.
“With the suspect having a head start, officers saw a member of the public nearby in possession of a bicycle – and asked if they could borrow it.”
> Police officer borrows bike to chase after suspect who fled after drug search
Within minutes the two-wheeled officer had caught and arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of dangerous driving, before gratefully returning the borrowed bike to the member of the public, described by Northumbria Police as a “Good Samaritan”.
“This was a fantastic example of the public working with us to help disrupt and detect crime,” the police said.
“It was a fast-moving incident and the manner of the suspect’s driving put other road users’ lives in endanger. It was totally unacceptable, and our immediate priority was to bring the vehicle to a stop and detain who we believed was inside.
“Thankfully, the officers showed superb skill and initiative not only during the pursuit itself, but also after the suspect had made off on foot. An excellent outcome for all involved.”
> Police officer commandeers bike to chase down car thieves
This week’s impromptu individual pursuit in Whitley Bay isn’t the first time we’ve reported on police borrowing bikes from members of the public to successfully catch suspected criminals.
In August last year, a police officer in Northern Ireland commandeered a bike from a “willing” passer-by to chase a man who had fled during a drugs search – with the successful pursuit resulting in a number of arrests being made in connection with Class A and B drugs.
In April 2021, a Greater Manchester Police officer who was chasing suspected car thieves grabbed a folding bike from a cyclist who was riding the Fallowfield Loop.
The officer set off on the borrowed bike after the suspects, who were travelling in a Toyota Prius which had been taken in a robbery in Longsight. The chase ended when the suspects crashed into a lamppost and were arrested – with the bike then safely returned to its owner.
11 thoughts on “Police officer borrows bike to chase dangerous driver who fled on foot”
I suspect most if not all of
I suspect most if not all of us would gladly let a police officer borrow our bicycle if it means apprehending a dangerous driver, it’s in our best interests after all. Chapeux that rider!
Just watch out for the clipless pedals officer! ?
Bit of a battle between ACAB
Bit of a battle between ACAB & AMAB for me
I can’t stand the acryonym
I can’t stand the acryonym ACAB. Maybe police forces do have a habit of attracting power crazed psychopaths, but they also attract people who want to serve their community.
Painting them all as bastards is just as bad claiming all cyclists are red light jumpers so far as I’m concerned, and stinks of black-and-white populism. The world’s a complex place.
Boopop wrote:
Well put but the bigger issue concerns the ‘bad apples’. Cressida Dick and her ilk like to downplay the problem and refer to officers like PC Couzens as ‘just a few bad apples’ and that may be true, but the irony is that the saying goes that if you don’t remove the bad apples, they ruin the whole barrel.
The bad apples show to other officers that behaviour that shouldn’t be tolerated is considered acceptable. And it shows to the public that police officers are not to be trusted and that some deserve to be despised.
While there are undoubtedly a
While there are undoubtedly a minority of bad officers who need weeding out, the huge majority trying to do a difficult job, often with their hands partially tied. Some sections of society have definite reasons to distrust the police and a lot of work will need to be done to rebuild confidence and deal with bad apples decisively and transparently but my experience says that a significant chunk of those using the ACAB tag do so because they don’t believe that the laws of the land should apply to them. I may not like some of our current laws but until I can convince a majority of the population to elect a Govt that will change them, I have to obey them or be willing to pay the consequences when caught. I can’t blame the police for enforcing them (though whether they have the resources to do so effectively is a whole different argument).
Hmm… complex and you’re
Hmm… complex and you’re right that it’s easy to mix lots of issues e.g. laws we don’t agree with, issues with the courts (and the judiciary), problems getting stuff dealt with (CPS, police resources and priorities).
It isn’t a job I’ve ever looked at and though “that’d be a doddle”.
However… the police are a “vocational organisation”. It is more than a 9 – 5. That means there are pressures which shape the behaviours you get from police on average. Much more than those expected for your average corporation / group. There have been plenty examples of the influence of “local conspiracies” where one or two “bad apples” are not just overlooked but actively influence a bigger group.
The police are spending a lot of time with / around criminals. Unless you establish relationships with those in that section of society how else are you going to learn what’s going on? It’s hardly unknown for the border to get blurred – or find families with members on both sides.
If you see something you think is wrong and try to go against the culture I suspect you’ll lose not just your pay check but your career and probably most of your friends / support network.
LeadenSkies wrote:
Just because a law exists, it doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily moral to obey it and often the only moral choice is to disobey it.
https://rebellion.global/blog/2020/11/03/civil-disobedience-examples/
In a few very select and very
In a few very select and very worthy cases like those you highlight, yes mass civil disobedience is justified but personally I don’t count routine speeding, careless driving, theft or drug possession to be civil disobedience, rather petty (or not so) crime.
I think it’s about time that
I think it’s about time that all police officers are equipped with heelies for impromptu chases.
And surely it’s “Škoda of interest”? (pronounced like shkoda)
Either that or they need to
Either that or they need to have the numbers of local buskers on speed dial as nothing speeds up a chase like a quick blast of sax.
No I have not fired my gun up
No I have not fired my gun up in the air and gone ‘ahhh’!