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Bluffs man arrested thanks to new chase-ending technology

News

November 1st, 2013 by Ric Hanson

A man suspected of reckless driving in Council Bluffs was arrested Thursday afternoon in Omaha, after authorities set-up a road block thanks to new technology that’s only being used in two states. The Daily NonPareil reports an officer responding to a report of a vehicle driving through yards near South Sixth Street and 23rd Avenue in Council Bluffs had attempted to stop the vehicle, but the suspect escaped.

A State Trooper was able to lock on to the vehicle using the Star system GPS, which is being used in Iowa and Florida. The system uses a “cannon” mounted in front of the grill on a police cruiser. The Star Chase System uses compressed air to shoot a GPS tag onto a targeted vehicle. Once the GPS tag is attached, dispatchers can continually monitor the whereabouts of the vehicle in question and relay the information to the officers involved. It also allows any police who may have been involved in a high-speed car chase to slow down and wait until it is safe to make a stop. Iowa State Patrol Trooper Tim Sieleman used the same system last week when he tried to stop a vehicle in Council Bluffs that he thought was stolen.

The officer who deployed the Star Chase system in Council Bluffs backed-off his pursuit while the suspect’s vehicle crossed into Omaha on Interstate 480. When it stopped near 42nd and J streets in Omaha, State Patrol officials in Iowa contacted their counterparts in Nebraska. Officers with the Nebraska State Patrol and Omaha Police Department were able to block the vehicle in and take the driver into custody.

50-year old Sean Richey, of Council Bluffs, was arrested on warrant for felony parole violation. A passenger in his vehicle fled after Richey’s car allegedly hit another vehicle near South 27th Street and Ninth Avenue, shortly before the chase began.