WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Feb. 27, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A high-speed chase through rush-hour traffic late Monday afternoon took Salt Lake City police officers to West Valley City in pursuit of robbery suspects.
Arrested were Maxwell Cowan, 26, and Daniel Riley, 25. Both are facing charges of bank robbery, fleeing and other charges related to Monday’s incident.
The chase began at approximately 5 p.m. and lasted about 23 minutes. Speeds reached an estimated 100 mph before officers were able to stop the vehicle, at about 3800 West and 3100 South.
Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Brandon Shearer told Gephardt Daily that just after 4 p.m., the U.S. Bank at approximately 2200 South and 2100 East was robbed by a man.
When officers were en route to the area, they noticed a car that matched the description of the suspect’s vehicle — a small, blue hatchback — in the area of 2100 S. State.
“They attempted to stop the vehicle at that time,” Shearer said, “and the vehicle fled northbound on I-15 to 600 South. They exited on 600 South, went southbound to 1300 South, where they got back on the freeway to SR-201 and then to Bangerter, eventually terminating at approximately 3860 West and 3100 South.”
It was there that two men jumped out of the vehicle and ran.
Shearer said Utah Highway Patrol, West Valley City Police and Unified Police all responded to assist.
Shortly after the suspects fled, both were found and taken into custody.
SLC Police Dept. Maxwell Cowan (26) and Daniel Riley (25) have been booked into jail for #BankRobbery #Fleeing and other charges in today’s incident.
Shearer said the policy regarding pursuits depends on the level of the crime, and robbing a bank is a fairly serious offense. He said that during a pursuit, officers constantly give their speed and the amount of traffic on the road and other details, so if at any time the officer or watch commander feels it’s unsafe to pursue, the pursuit can be called off.
In this incident, the car that fled collided with another vehicle at 1300 S. West Temple St. Shearer said it was a minor accident with no injuries.
“Anytime we have something as serious as a pursuit going on,” he said, “we really want to let the other (police) agencies know we’re coming into their city, for example, here in West Valley. … We’re very grateful for all the help the other agencies provided on this.”
He added that the public was also helpful in this incident, because traffic was yielding to the emergency vehicles.
“That’s the biggest thing. If you hear sirens or see flashing lights, just move to the right. Slow down and move to the right.”
My son was a innocent bystander in a high speed chase is Az. He was hit by a drug dealer going 110. He pulled to the right and the cops though spike stripes under his truck. High speed chases should never put the public in danger. Should stop them at that speed.