Chatham-Kent police officers punched out the tires on a “stolen” vehicle near the airport recently.
The officers deployed a Stop Stick to puncture the tires of a decommissioned police cruiser as part of a four-day workshop put on by the Chatham-Kent Police Service on the perils of police pursuits.
Trainers from the Ontario Police College were on hand. In fact, one of them, Ken Lester, was behind the wheel of the stolen car.
The Stop Stick is essentially comprised of three or four long, three-sided sections tied together lengthwise. Each side of these sections has hollow metal quills that are designed to break off into a tire and slowly let the air out.
An officer throws the Stop Stick out perpendicular to the roadway.
“The vehicle is still manoeuvrable, but the tires deflate,” Lester said. “Reduced speed is a signal the spike belt was deployed successfully. It doesn’t guarantee the car will stop, but it does guarantee a reduction in speed.”
Sgt. Mike Thompson of the CKPS said the workshop was all about safety, for that of the general public, the police officers and even the perpetrators.
Thompson said police pursuits in Chatham-Kent don’t happen very often, but come with a high risk.
“We want to have our officers thinking ahead as to an alternative to pursuit,” he said. “Public safety is our priority.”
All frontline CKPS vehicles have the Stop Sticks in their trunks. It is very rare they get deployed, let alone actually punch out someone’s tires.
Thompson said police supervisors and trainers took part in the workshop.
For the demonstration, one cruiser came up behind the “stolen” car, reported it to dispatch and asked if there was any available back up.
Const. Matt Stezycki deployed the Stop Stick. As Lester’s vehicle ran over the device, there was a thump followed by a hiss as observers could hear the tires immediately start to lose air. By the time Lester slowed the car and pulled up to the gathered supervisors and members of the media, his two front tires were nearly flat.
A tow truck had to be called in to remove the car.
