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Jul 2, 2009 4:03 pm US/Central
Dallas Constable Admits To Error During Chase
Miscommunication Helped Prolong Monday's High-Speed Pursuit
GARLAND (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A Dallas County constable apologized to the Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday in regards to comments made after Monday's controversial high-speed car chase. Michael Gothard said that he was wrong when he said that the DPS lead the chase at one point.
The 90-minute chase came to a grinding conclusion when a truck with a green light t-boned the suspect's vehicle in the middle of an intersection along the border between Richardson and Garland. But there was finger-pointing over why the chase lasted so long, and who was in charge.
CBS 11 News viewers watched as a forgery suspect drove wildly, clipped highway signs and avoided the stop sticks thrown down by authorities.
Lack of communication among the various agencies helped prolong the event. One reason that Precinct #2 constables stayed with the dangerous chase for so long is that someone mistakenly reported that DPS had taken the lead.
"This miscommunication came when the secondary unit came on the radio and said, 'It looks like DPS is in it now,'" explained Gothard. "With sirens going and all the radio traffic, it sounded like, 'DPS is in the lead now.'"
According to Gothard, a DPS helicopter flying overhead could only hear his frequency, but coulld not talk back. "The only way we have communication with DPS was by telephone," Gothard said.
Still, Gothard justified his precinct's chase policy, saying you never know what kind of criminal may be in the other vehicle. A different precinct's chase on Wednesday ended in a five-hour standoff that eventually led to the arrest of a double murder suspect.
Besides, Gothard added, most suspects are simply unaware of when an agency calls off a chase. "Our feeling is, in this situation, if we'd have backed off, that accident would still happen," Gothard said.
The truck driver was not injured, and has not spoken with the constable since Monday. Meanwhile, the suspect was identified as William Michel. He remains in the hospital with an unknown condition.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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