Dashcam: SUV Driver Speeds onto Crowded Soccer Field to Flee N.Y. Police

By Mike Goodwin

Source Times Union, Albany, N.Y.

BETHLEHEM, NY — Town police released a video of their pursuit of a vehicle suspected in a local shoplifting case that ended when the fleeing SUV was driven through a park filled with soccer players.

Police Chief Gina Cocchiara acknowledged the "community's concerns" about the Sept. 16 chase, but stood by the department's policy for police pursuit. No one was injured in the chase and three people were taken into custody after the SUV was abandoned in Elm Avenue Park.

"I believe that unilaterally halting all pursuits would send a dangerous message that fleeing from the police has no consequence, which undermines accountability and encourages further disregard for the law, leading to a direct and dangerous impact on the safety of our community," she wrote in a prepared statement published on the town's website.

The pursuit unfolded after police were called at about 6 p.m. to investigate a larceny at the Walmart at 311 Route 9W. Police spotted a Ford Escape pulling out of the parking lot, and an officer tried to stop the vehicle.

Police said the vehicle "fled at a high rate of speed" on Route 9W before heading west on Feura Bush Road. The vehicle drove down an embankment and onto soccer fields as children played in Elm Avenue Park. The pursuit covered about three miles.

The video of the pursuit lasts about 5 minutes. Shot from the dash-cam on one of the patrol cars involved in the quest, the video begins in the Walmart parking lot before following the SUV onto Feura Bush Road. Dozens of cars on both sides of the busy street pull to the side of the road as the vehicle and the pursuing police car head west on the road. The pace of the pursuit increases and decreases, but appears, at points, to exceed the 35 mph speed limit on Feura Bush Road.

Once the vehicles arrive at the park, the SUV drives down a slight embankment and continues into the park. The police vehicle with the dash cam does not follow the SUV onto the grass. Instead, it drives into the park's entrance and remains on the park's paved roads until another officer announces that the SUV was abandoned and one of the occupants had been apprehended. Two others were quickly arrested.

So far, videos from other police cars have not emerged.

Last week, one parent described to the Times Union a chaotic scene of frightened children stunned by the sight of an SUV moving toward them as parents and coaches pulled youngsters out of the vehicle's path.

"It's a miracle no one was injured," said the mother of a 7-year-old. "It came within feet of my husband and child."

She wasn't at the park but spoke to her daughter in the aftermath.

"She said a car came through the soccer field and she was terrified it was going to hit her," said the woman, who asked that her name not be published. Her daughter, she said, told her, "'Daddy grabbed me and tried to get other kids out of the way.'"

Law enforcement agencies are increasingly limiting pursuits, and several local departments have ended the practice of chasing motorized dirtbikes for fear that fleeing riders will be injured or killed if they lose control of the vehicles and crash.

Cocchiara called the issue a "complex dilemma for law enforcement agencies as there are associated risks to public safety whenever they are initiated," according to her statement.

"I understand your concerns that pursuits often seem to stem from what appear to be minor offenses, but it is important to note that flight from law enforcement is, in itself, a crime," she continued. "In our experience as law enforcement officials, individuals who flee often have underlying motives, such as outstanding warrants, weapons violations, or involvement in other criminal activity that only come to light after apprehension."

John Cooney, a retired Troy police captain and longtime consultant on policing and mental health, said police chases pose too much of a danger to bystanders and those involved to justify pursuits unless the officers know the fleeing vehicle is involved in a life-or-death situation.

"This is a shoplifter who got in a car and drove away fast," Cooney said. He discounted the likelihood that a chase would end with police finding a suspect wanted for a major crime. "You cannot continue to chase, hoping, believing or possibly knowing you'll come up with the bigger prize."

Police said the driver, April A. Mahoney, 49, was charged with a variety of felonies and misdemeanors, including first-degree reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, conspiracy, reckless driving, petit larceny and resisting arrest.

A 36-year-old man from Albany was charged with felony drug possession, and misdemeanor counts of conspiracy, resisting arrest and obstruction of governmental administration. A 41-year-old woman from Albany was charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration and conspiracy.

Town police said the two women are wanted on unrelated charges in other communities.

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