WESTLAKE, Ohio — A camera never blinks, and for police, that’s proving invaluable in solving crimes.
“It has come in very handy in both serious and minor crimes,” said Westlake Police Captain Jerry Vogel.
On December 9, 2023, a police officer tried to pull a car over for not using a turn signal, having tinted windows and no visible license plate on the car. The stop is caught on video; as the officer stepped out of his patrol car, the driver took off.
It was during the afternoon and the video showed traffic was heavy. The officer attempted to pursue the car but then pus the brakes on the chase.
“We tried to catch up with it, but it was getting on the highway, and there was so much traffic around we didn’t bother chasing at the time,” said Vogel.
He said they weigh the severity of the offense versus the safety of the public, officer and suspect when deciding to chase.
That driver, Vogel said, led officers from another department on a chase. The driver got away, at least that day. Officers turned to high-tech tools to track down the car and driver.
“With the new tech it really gives us a lot more options to gather evidence,” explained Vogel.
First, police said they used license plate readers even though there was no visible license plate.
“You can put in the make, model, color — all those things of the vehicle. Even if it has bumper stickers, you can put that in there and search for a particular car that way," Vogel said.
They tracked the car through different cities, “from Westlake to Middleburg Heights, to Cleveland and surrounding areas to try and find out where the vehicle came from and where it’s going,” he said.
But that wasn’t all. Police used city cameras as well as information gathered from cell phones.
“Everyone’s got a cell phone with them now. There are geolocations on your cell phones, especially when you connect them to your vehicle,” Vogel said.
After a little more than a month, police said high-tech tools and old-fashioned police work led them to the car and driver.
Police arrested a 20-year-old at a home in Cleveland on Monday. Police video showed the car backed into a driveway. The driver had a felony warrant from the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department for having a gun in a car illegally.
“Maybe some people don’t think it’s a big deal, but we are going to track it down and run it until we can’t run it anymore,” said Vogel.
