Plymouth police defend wild chase through neighborhood

A Mother's Day police chase through five cities that reached speeds of up to 100 miles per hour before a frightening conclusion in a busy south Minneapolis neighborhood is under internal review by authorities, Plymouth's police chief said Monday.

Meanwhile, the 37-year-old driver of the stolen SUV that police were chasing remained jailed without bail Monday night. The chase ended with minor injuries to his female passenger and a Plymouth police officer. The driver is expected to be charged today with multiple felonies.

He is also wanted on additional felony warrants on suspicion of vehicle theft and credit card fraud. Police did not know the driver's identity during the chase.

Plymouth Police Chief Michael Goldstein defended his officers' decision to continue the chase long after it left their jurisdiction.

"It was ours, we owned it and we chose to continue it," Goldstein said. "The officers involved and the supervisor were relatively comfortable maintaining the pursuit. In hindsight, it's very easy to look at things differently, but based on the policies we have in place and the circumstances they had in front of them, they felt he was a danger and someone who needed to be apprehended."

At least one resident of the Bryant Park neighborhood disagrees.

"My frustration in all of this was that they were putting people's lives in danger for a stolen vehicle that couldn't be worth $17,000, max," said Randy Hornstine, 51, who was planting flowers at his home at 41st Street and Portland Avenue when the chase flew by.

"This is crazy to go that fast through a neighborhood. Is it necessary?"

Other law enforcement agencies, including Minneapolis, assisted as the chase passed through their cities.

Chase started at grocery store

Plymouth police officer Kelli Ploumen was hospitalized Sunday evening for bumps and bruises after the 30-minute chase, which began at 2 p.m. when Ploumen spotted the stolen Dodge Durango in a Cub Foods parking lot in Plymouth. She tried to pull the driver over, but he sped off. Officers from several jurisdictions temporarily joined in as the chase wound through New Hope and headed south on Hwy. 169 into St. Louis Park and then into Edina on the Crosstown before racing along several Minneapolis thoroughfares, including the northbound lanes of I-35W. After exiting the highway at E. 36th Street, the SUV veered the wrong way into one-way traffic on Portland and Park avenues, tearing up yards for a block before it was rammed to a stop by Plymouth squad cars about 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of E. 41st Street and Columbus Avenue S.

Ploumen was hurt in the crash, as was a female passenger in the stolen vehicle. The passenger is not expected to face charges, said Plymouth Police Capt. Craig Lindman. Both were released from the hospital Sunday night.

Sunday's incident occurred little more than a month after a 15-year-old led Minneapolis police on a chase in a stolen car before smashing into a car driven by 26-year-old Hanna Abukar, killing her. The teenager was charged with six felony counts, including vehicular homicide. A police supervisor called off that 12-block chase for public safety reasons about a half-mile before the crash.

Goldstein said that his department rarely engages in chases and that Sunday's was the second pursuit of the year. A supervisor had given the officers permission to continue it.

"Certainly I want to support their actions, and we still want to look at it to determine if things could have been done differently and better," he said. "But on the surface, you have a felon who chose not to stop and the officers reacted to that."

Hornstine sees it differently.

"This is a situation where, in my mind, just to take off after a stolen car and do what they did in south Minneapolis, even on a freeway, is not safe," he said. "Maybe they need to get a little more of a grip on what's necessary and what's not for the protection of the city. I'm sure they have to make a call, but this is dangerous."

Abby Simons • 612-673-4921