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Sheriff’s Office Explains High Speed Chase Tactics
01/07/09 - 06:20 PM

WMBB News Department

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Two men face charges for armed robbery after a dangerous high speed chase, but the Bay County Sheriff’s Office knows things could have been much worse yesterday.

A chase reaching speeds of 100 miles per hour can result in destruction of property, and injury or even death to innocent bystanders. But only one car was hit by the suspects during the pursuit, and no citizens were injured.
   
The Sheriff’s Office took News 13 along the path of the chase to show how it was done.

“I mean it was textbook, flawless,” says Bay County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Andy Husar.

That’s how the Bay County Sheriff’s Office describes the pursuit. After the men fled People’s First Bank on Front Beach Road, a witness called 9-1-1 to tell authorities the suspects had switched cars. What the robbers didn’t know was that a Sheriff’s Deputy was just around the corner at Laird Street.
“At that point the deputy is trying to talk to the communications room to tell them the speeds, where they’re at, and road conditions,” says Deputy Husar.

The suspects continued down Highway 98 and turned left at on 23rd Street, where another deputy joined the pursuit.

“When another unit engages in the pursuit, somebody else falls in, they become the secondary car, they take over all radio communications,” Husar explains.

That leaves the first car to concentrate on tracking the suspects.

After evading several spike strip attempts, deputies tried something more extreme.

“The supervisor calling the pursuit yesterday called in the PIT maneuver when the vehicle got on 231,” says Sheriff Frank McKeithen.

“Our PIT maneuver is at the top of the level,” says Husar. “You know it’s considered a deadly force action because what you’re doing is you get up next to the car and at an angle you rub into the car and what you’re doing is putting that car into an uncontrolled spin to get them to stop.”

The PIT maneuver is a dangerous one that could injure innocent bystanders.

“The roadway was clear, there was no oncoming traffic at the time,” says Husar.” You know that’s when the PIT maneuver, that’s when they were able to engage it and successfully stop the pursuit>”

The Sheriff’s Office says one suspect, 45-year-old David Musgrove, has been put in a medically induced coma because of a broken neck. His brother Terrell is expected to be discharged from the hospital today.

Once they are released from the hospital, 48-year-old Terrell of Leesburg, Georgia will face charges of Principle to Armed Robbery and Felony Fleeing and Eluding. His brother David of Albany, Georgia will face a charge of Armed Robbery.