** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
A Gaston Police officer tried to stop Joseph Drafts, 42, of West Columbia, for speeding and for a license tag violation. However, Drafts refused to stop for blue lights and led the officer on a 10-mile chase outside of city limits, according to Maj. Stephen Watkins. Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies were asked to assist by placing stop sticks along Highway 6. Drafts’s front passenger tire was punctured, but he was able to drive a little way before the tire fell completely off and his vehicle wrecked into a pine tree on Avon Court in Gaston.
Watkins said Drafts then fled the vehicle on foot and traveled through the woods to Sems Road. While officers were using K-9s to track Drafts, Lexington County deputies got dispatched to a home on Sems Road regarding a suspicious person in a resident’s yard. When deputies arrived, the homeowner had Drafts at gunpoint, unaware that he was currently being chased by police. Drafts was then arrested and taken into custody.
Drafts is charged with driving under suspension fourth offense, failure to stop for blue lights and breach of trust motor vehicle. Watkins said the breach of trust motor vehicle charge is a warrant out of West Columbia and unrelated to Thursday’s incident. Other charges are expected as officers investigate. Also in the vehicle with Drafts was passenger Heirbrane Foster, 24. Foster did not flee the vehicle after it crashed and was taken into custody. Charges against Foster are pending. Both men were booked at the Lexington County Detention Center.
Donate to PoliceActivity: https://www.patreon.com/PoliceActivity
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PoliceActivity
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Police_Activity
** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
Passenger Heirbrane Foster? Seriously? LOL
A few observations from a former police driving instructor about the officer's driving during the pursuit. Following the suspect's vehicle too closely is dangerous for multiple reasons. First, it gives the officer very little reaction time if the bad guy bites it right in front of him. Distance! More distance=more time to react and respond like a trained driving professional. Second, traffic ahead can't see the officer's car and emergency lights if the vehicle he's chasing is blocking them from their view. Bad guy knows he's chasing you, the lights and siren are for everyone else at that point. Third, as you can see at 2:33 the officer is barreling into the oncoming highway traffic almost as badly as the suspect just did! That blue car forced off the road to the right was pretty much tag-teamed by the bad guy AND the officer. It's not a race. In a pursuit you only have to come in second place. Fourth, it's also about the officer's focus. He's human, and we humans tend to focus on what's right in front of us when we're under adrenaline (AKA a pursuit). Officers are customarily trained to look farther ahead and see the big picture and to anticipate, and this becomes much harder during the to do in a pursuit (AKA adrenaline) when you're right off someone's rear bumper. Lastly, it's also about the officer's state of mind. By backing off a little bit (or a lot depending on the circumstances) gives the officer's brain some time to breathe, and they'll make better decisions during (and even after) the pursuit. Pursuits are tricky. We want our police to catch criminals. And trust me, they want to catch them too. But the police also need to understand that they need to always strive to minimize the chances of injuring or killing innocent bystanders. Whether that be making the decision to choose (or to choose not) to pursue, or making sure their driving/pursuit skills are sufficient for the task at hand.
5:55 and the winner is….!
Such a BEAUTIFUL area…cant they just enjoy life & stop this foolishness..be grateful….😰😒😒😒ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ™ðŸ’œ
and yet another BLACK under arrest, they never stop.
Best commercial that i've ever seen for a pickup truck.
Seriously, the passengers named was "Heirbrane"? Pronounced like "harebrained"? As in, not that smart?
Video Quality 1p
At the crash site, the "big" officer kept standing in front of the dash cam–rendering some of the photography unusable in Court. All Officers should receive training on how not to cover the camera.
imagine that…its a black guy who stole the truck. Gee…what a shocker!
I wish we could have seen the citizen who had this jerk held by gunpoint when cops arrested him. My husband would be so happy.
love the name of the passenger..pronounced airbrain..lol
The B driver officer who took the passenger out needs to be more smart and aggressive or he won't be around as an officer for very long. He'll either be getting promoted to civilian, be ran out the door by fellow officers, or be leaving in a wood box!!!
Where is the body cam of the final arrest with homeowner holding the suspect at gunpoint? I wanna see THAT. 🙂
You cannot imagine my surprise when a Dinndo jumped out of dat truck!
7:30 the officer helps pull the suspects pants up. He must have lost a lot of weight to have loose pants like that. 😂😂
2 rocket scientists
WHY IS US POLICEMAN SO FAT AND OLD
@7:45 – does cop say to suspect…"now the fun part?" 🙂
Shocked to see what bailed. Plague