Warren police end chase with alleged drunk driver as they entered Detroit as part of policy

DETROIT (FOX 2) - An alleged drunk driver led authorities on a police chase from Fraser to Detroit when Warren police stepped in to help bring it to an end. But then they stopped, which they told FOX 2 was all apart from their policy.

Warren police say on Sunday night Nov. 22, Fraser police tried to stop an alleged drunk driver near Groesbeck and Masonic. However, they were unsuccessful and a low-speed chase ensued that was heading for Warren.

"Fraser requested marked units to assist as the pursuit traveled southbound on Groesbeck from their city into our city," said lt. John Gajewski with Warren police. "Our units responded to assist and attempted to deploy tire deflation devices on the suspect vehicle. However, sadly, the suspect vehicle was able to evade the devices."

Gajewski says the pursuit then went southbound into Detroit. Once it entered the city, Warren police peeled off.

"At which point Fraser made the decision to terminate the pursuit. We followed up with termination as well," he said.  

Fraser police says the investigation is ongoing, and they could not confirm if the suspect had been taken into custody.

Gajewski says in regard to the chase, their policy is to abide by whatever the host agency wants to do.

"It’s case by case, agency by agency. There are certain cases, of course, if it were some sort of extreme violent crime where we probably wouldn’t terminate, and we wouldn’t expect another agency too," he said.

He says when it comes to pursuits, agencies are constantly monitoring each other's radios, listening closely if they need help. And as soon as they get the call too, they jump into action, like what happened on that Sunday night.

"We had two units that were kind of involved. We had other units trying to block intersections to keep the public safe and try to bring this pursuit to an end."

Because keeping other drivers and pedestrians safe is their other goal.

"Certainly it’s a risk to the public, and we have to balance that. We have to balance the safety of the community. With the need to arrest law violators. We certainly don’t want to incentivize flight from police," he said.

Warren police say should you ever find yourself in the middle of a police chase or bear one, please pull over. Their goal is to keep the public safe.