A Michigan State Police (MSP) trooper attempted to pull over a gold-colored Saturn in Three Rivers Monday morning for a tag violation. During the attempted stop, the vehicle fled, but due to MSP policy, the trooper did not pursue him. Instead, the trooper found the vehicle abandoned shortly after with the door open on Railroad Drive behind downtown Three Rivers.
The incident began in the early morning. Witnesses who arrived on scene as early as 8:30 a.m. said the vehicle and at least one MSP cruiser were already present at that time. Andrew George, who lives downtown and witnessed part of the incident, said, “the car got around (the curve by Memory Isle Park) before the police officer did, so the police officer did not witness him jump out of the vehicle and run. He pulled up to the car and the guy was already gone.”
MSP brought in a K-9 unit, which tracked from the car to the door of a nearby building. The door was locked, and troopers were unable to pursue the trail further. In total, five MSP vehicles responded. George said vehicles from the Three Rivers Police Department and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department also appeared briefly.
Troopers spent several hours on scene looking for possible places the suspect might have gone, with additional K-9 searches. According to the MSP Marshall Post, where troopers assigned to St. Joseph County are based, they also performed a search of the vehicle that yielded no results.
This article has been updated to better reflect what Watershed Voice was told regarding the reason MSP initially attempted to stop the vehicle.
Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
