'Afraid' suspect leads cops on car chase, then foot race

Dash cam video showing a police chase through the streets of Hazel Park and Ferndale.

The suspect eventually ditched the car and made a last ditch effort to escape on foot. The driver of a silver Kia made a mistake he is likely regretting.

Tuesday morning  Hazel Park police attempted to make a traffic stop, but the driver refused and gave police the slip.

When the driver made his way into Ferndale, police spotted him at the intersection of Wanda and Nine Mile where Freddie Pickens was caught on dash cam speeding off after officers turned on their sirens.

Pickens drove through a residential area for a short time before he jumped out of his car and ran away while the car was still moving.

"Our officers chased him down and caught him the backyards," said Lt. Bill Wilson, Ferndale Police Department.

Police ran the license plate and say Pickens only had some outstanding tickets.

FOX 2: "Aside from a traffic stop, what else did police want with him?"

"That was it, this was merely a traffic stop," Wilson said. "He had a suspended driver's license. So in the end he would have gotten a ticket, maybe gotten arrested and bonded out and set free. But instead he chose to endanger his own life, the officers and the motorists and residents around there."

Pickens has been arraigned, and he's being held on a $5,000 cash bond.

When police asked Freddie Pickens why he ran away, he told them he was scared. Now, he has a lot to be scared about - facing five years behind bars.

Police say the vehicle and foot chase lasted no more than 10 minutes adding that no one was hurt in the incident.