Fired Employee Makes Gun Threat, Leads High Speed Chase All Over Battle Creek
No one was injured following a dangerous high speed police pursuit that ventured into several areas around Battle Creek, including I-94, Friday morning. It started when Battle Creek Police were called to a factory in the 1500 block of Denso Rd. on reports of a terminated employee claiming a gun and threatening employees. Officers were dispatched just before 9:00am, but the former employee fled prior to their arrival.
After receiving a suspect vehicle description, police quickly located the vehicle in the area of Capital Ave. and Beckley Rd. When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver fled westbound on I-94 before returning to city streets moments later. Deputies from the Calhoun County Sheriff Office began assisting in the chase and at one point witnessed the suspect swerving toward pedestrians in the area of Helmer Rd and Beckley Rd.
The pursuit continued through the Minges Creek Area before returning to I-94. The suspect began to return to the area of the factory where the original incident began prompting a full lock down of that facility. Speeds exceeded 100 mph while on I-94 with the suspect passing vehicles on all portions of the roadway. At one point, the suspect's vehicle was lost, but was located again seconds later. The pursuit continued to circle the area of Fort Custer and I-94.
Based on the fact that this suspect appeared to pose a credible threat to the safety of the public as well as other employees of the Fort Custer Facility, a Calhoun County Deputy was able to conduct a slow speed maneuver and push the vehicle off the roadway as the suspect was attempting to travel westbound on the eastbound side of I-94 near Columbia Ave.
The suspect, a 31-year-old man from Battle Creek, was taken into custody by members of the Battle Creek Police Department and Calhoun County Sheriff's Office and faces a multitude of charges. There was no weapon recovered from the vehicle.