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Flomaton Police High Speed Chase Called Off Near Molino
October 10, 2010
A high speed police chase that began in Flomaton was called off several miles into Florida early Sunday morning.
A Flomaton Police Department officer began pursuing a green pickup truck in Flomaton just before midnight Saturday. The driver of the vehicle was reported to be armed with a shotgun and was telling emergency dispatchers that he would commit suicide. He also made possible verbal threats to dispatchers concerning a subject at a Century bar.
The Flomaton officer continued the chase southbound on Highway 29 through Century, finally calling off the chase just north of Molino shortly after midnight.
Florida officers learned of the chase when they observed the pursuit heading south through Century at an “extremely” high rate of speed. The Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office followed the pursuit at a great distance but did not become involved.
Further details were not available Sunday morning.
Comments
51 Responses to “Flomaton Police High Speed Chase Called Off Near Molino”
Just so you dont take that the wrong way and think im being rude, im not. It’s awesome that you’re an officer. I could never be one. There’s no way id have enough patience with some of the idiots yall have to deal with. All im saying is that i dont see anything wrong with him telling his side of the story. I dont know if yall have any rules about that saying that youre not suppose to, but if not i dont see anything wrong with it. Things happen everyday. Its life. It doesnt make Flomaton look bad. It could have happened anywhere..what im trying to say is he didnt make Flomaton look bad or retarded, I cant remember you exact words, by saying what happened. He was just clarifying to keep people from getting confused with questions about why he did what he did, which is totally understandable to me. But, everybody has an opinion.
Well good for you. That statement wasnt going towards you. The statement going towards you was about him putting information about what happened on the website. He never realeased any names. It doesnt make Flomaton look bad. He was just doing his job..
this is all too funny, let them do their job or go to the academy yourself and come and help them
(you think you can do a better job, maybe you should become an officer and risk putting your life on the line everyday.)
I am and I do.
I personally think Chris Neal did a wonderful job. No one was hurt. In my opnion I don’t think he would have let the chase get that much out of control to harm any lives. And I think he should have the right to leave a comment on here explaining what happened. Nobody actually knew what happened except him and the guy being chased. He never released any names. He’s just stating what happened for the concerned people actually wanting to know. He’s a citizen just like everyone else and just because he is a police officer doesn’t mean he loses the right to state what happened on something he was involved in. At least people now know what happened and don’t have to guess why he did what he did anymore. He did what he thought was best. If you think you can do a better job, maybe you should become an officer and risk putting your life on the line everyday.
I have to agree with JustMe and Flomaton Citizen. In case everyone doesn’t know by now but here in Flomaton the mayor and council, heck lets not forget the police department, they do whatever they want, make up the rules as they go that benefits them. They are not looking out for our best intrest, they are looking out for theirs, or whatever might make them look good until it all backfires.If you think the town of Flomaton is broke now wait until something like this happens and someone gets hurt or injured. Can you say lawsuit? Bottom line, Flomaton cops need to stay out of Florida, public official or cheif should comment on matter only, of course you wouldn’t get the whole story if that were to happen. As for making our town look bad, well now, not only do I get to read The Tri-City ledger for my weekly dose of mayor/council/police dept mishaps and debacles I can now view it on the web aswell. Seems like others have the same veiws. TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE IN FLOMATON.
as for the policy on high-speed chases, ask B.Crapps, I bet he has a copy of it.
Flomaton citizen I too agree with your post. Its not good for an individual officer to come onto a public website to try to justify his actions. Would have looked much better to have came from a Chief or a Public Information Officer if they even have one. Im sure this is just another mishap that will get swept under the rug, seems like that gets done alot in Flomaton.
(I did chase that guy, with the intentions of getting him stopped and in jail before he shot and killed someone innocent. The subject pulled a Shotgun on several individuals in Odom’s parking lot (while I was present) prior to the chase and threatened to use it.
Ok, is this the officer, (Neal) that was involved in this chase. If this is a police officer then why is he releasing statements of a departmental matter here on a public website. And then i wonder why Mayor Bondurant would allow him to comment on town matters here on a public website. Is the Chief of Police the only one authorized to release public statements? Mayor and Council please address this matter. This makes our town look retarded.
I heard this call over the scanner that Flomaton needed help when Florida was called the words were why is Flomaton chasing this truck dispatcher said he has a gun threathen somone, at a bar ,, FLORIDA came over the scanner and said well we want get involed with this FLORIDA did not help Flomaton out they could of caught this dummy!
Did any1 ever catch this guy?
Well your probably right about some things and I suppose if this officer did
anything wrong there will be a full scale investigation into his where abouts
and his chasing this guy into Florida.
I just felt that as dangerous as this guy sounded, I didn’t really give two
figs about jurisdiction as long as he got stopped. I do, however, realize
that there has to be rules governing these pursuits, so I will fore-go my
urge to give the line Eddie Murphy once gave to his superior’s about
multi-jurisdictional garbage which keeps jumping into my mind at this
moment.
Horrific I stated that “most” comments, hence meaning not all. You can tell the ones that are immature based and the ones that have logic behind them. And it doesnt matter how far odoms bar is from Flomaton, its in Florida so unless the officer is providing back up he shouldnt be there. And if he were providing backup then Im sure ECSO would have handled the situation at hand. As DHG says;
Justme thinking his 13 hours and 58 minutes has long expired.
oh and just for the record justme…I’m going on 70 so I’m not a groupie or
a co-worker.
This officer was not at the tom-thumb…….
he was doing his job…..
he was out trying to catch bad guy so we would all be safe……
the last I knew that was SPECIFICALLY THEIR JOB…….
justme
try reading williams post and fred’s post I think it will help you…..
Some of these comments in support of him doing the right thing you can tell are from either “co workers” or young girls. The point is since Mr Neal graciously showed his face on these meassage boards, why didnt he answer some of the questions asked. Why were you in Floirda to begin with, who was protecting Flomaton while you were in Floirda all the way to Molino to be exact? What if Someone had broke in on someone in Flomaton at that time, guess they are just out of luck? Why did it tak you to Molino to call for Floirda deputies, as soon as you crossed the line you should have been calling. What is the procedure for high speed chases in Flomaton? Or maybe I will just go and get a copy of them myself.
Good job 393 as for ppl who don’t know or can’t read ya need not talk crap he is a great officer!!!
When an old deer stops the dog will stop too!!! EVERY TIME
Mickey Powell
Flomaton
Chris Neal
Thanks for all the in put…..i read that he was from a bar and had a gun and
had threatened ppl….that was enough for me….as far as i’m concerned
this was a chase at midnight… down 29…..it should have continued…..
with this guys mentality and I had figured, depression, booze, possibly
drugs and a sure mix of threats and guns….WHAT A COMBO!
lets see now…..WHEN IS IT OK TO CHASE AN DANGEROUS PERSON????
Chris I think YOU did the right thing chasing this one and I think it’s a shame
Florida didn’t see it that way and didn’t get involved.
I wouldn’t want my loved ones slammed into during a police pursuit, but
then again I wouldn’t want them to be shot at by a delusional ,boozed up
idiot with a gun either nor a possibility that this guy may have gone on
a full blown rampage and taken out lots of ppl.
ARRRGH!
THANKS FOR TRYING CHRIS!
A man with a pretty good throwing arm could stand at the Flomaton police station door and hit Odom’s bar with a rock. It’s not uncommon for the Flomaton police to circle by Odom’s bar looking for people from Alabama with outstanding warrants. They can’t arrest them there but they can set up road blocks coming back into Alabama to catch them. I wish someone would tell us who this fruit loop is.
Isn’t Odom’s bar in Century? Why wasn’t the Fla. deputies called in the first place? If he pulled a gun on people there, wasn’t that against the law — in Fla.? What did he do to break the law in Alabama, call dispatch and tell them he was going to kill himself and threaten someone in a Fla. bar? What was a Flomaton cop doing at a Fla. bar in the first place – while he was on duty? Sounds like the people at Odom’s know this guy’s name.
I disapprove of ANY high speed chase. Cops should call ahead for roadblocks to be put up on any road a fleeing ‘felon’ might take. Driving on the roads around here is dangerous enough without adding a high speed chase to the mix. Cop cars should be the only cars that are able to go over 65 mph.
Chris Neal,
I think you did a great job!! It’s not your fault you did not have backup!!
Wondering why a flomaton police officer was present at Odoms bar which is in Florida.
i just love arm-chair cops
I did chase that guy, with the intentions of getting him stopped and in jail before he shot and killed someone innocent. The subject pulled a Shotgun on several individuals in Odom’s parking lot (while I was present) prior to the chase and threatened to use it. He then travelled into Flomaton where I am responsible for making sure everyone is safe and then ran back into Florida. I called the pursuit off after asking for permission from Florida to utilize their units for assistance. Unfortunately the Deputies and Supervisors have rules set and policies in place that wont allow them to assist. Which I don’t have a problem with, everyone has rules and policies and if they cant help they just cant help. The guy has bad mental issues and in my opinion he is very unstable and a danger to the public. The suspect called several agencies taunting them to come chase him even after my pursuit was over. Even stating to me ” I’ve injected myself with a special poison and I have 13 hours and 58 minutes to live and when I die I don’t care who goes with me. I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t want anyone who is that unstable, Armed and Angry free to travel wherever he likes so that he can kill innocent people if thats what the voices in his head tell him to do at that particular minute.
Donna, there are no speed traps in Flomaton. A speed trap is where the speed limit is excessively low for that area. Flomatons speed limits are fair. Obey the speed limit signs and you won’t be stopped.
This is all good info one because it is awell known fact that anyone not from flomaton is set up for speed traps with very high fines , this tells me if u just can go faster no need to stop , flomaton wont catch you and escambia florida will let it go. lol
Bobby ask: Fred, what good does a tag number do?
And wrote: It doesn’t tell you who was driving and if you think that the owner would just admit it was them or tell on their friend you are sadly mistaken.
The owner of a registered vehicle is responsible for who is allowed to be driving that vehicle. You’re mistaken If you think the police can’t arrest the owner of the truck if he won’t tell the police who was driving the truck. The only way around this would be if he reported the truck stolen within a reasonable amount of time. It hasn’t been stated whether the tag # was retrieved but if it was the owner of the truck is guilty of alluding the police until he proves otherwise. That’s the way it works.
Well here we go again. Shows the mentality and training of the small departments. The cops and robbers shootem up cowboys. If they didn’t learn from the escapade over in Atmore last year,well it probably isn’t worth discussing anymore. Thanks to Sheriff Smith and Sheriff Morgan for having your officers under control.
I think flomaton police are awesome!!!!!
If he had a gun and florida wouldn’t chase him and he committed no crime, then why were the flomaton police following him all the way to molino? What exactly did they plan to do , get him help? I doubt it
They would have probably shot him and claimed self defense
Suicide is legal, you never punish the successful. Sometimes suicidal people decide to take a few with them, that is ill advised.
Fred, what good does a tag number do? It doesn’t tell you who was driving and if you think that the owner would just admit it was them or tell on their friend you are sadly mistaken.
let me think….there is a suicidal maniac on the loose…& the police knew it & still just stopped chasing him. I hope they got the “tag#” & find him . But what happens if they find the truck & he did in fact commit suicide? Are we gonna blame the parents of the driver or the parents of the police officer???
O.K. my 5cents someone know who this man is just tell the police and they can go question him and then they may find more on him and can take him in on that !!
Didn”t yall read the part about possible verbal threats against a subject at a Century bar? The Flomaton police should have called ahead to Florida and Florida should have put out the spikes. After all he was traveling at a high rate of speed. I don’t think he would have been running if he was a lawabiding citizen.
Well as an “armchair quarterback” I for one have a quarterbacks family that may or may not be on the roads when these irresponsible situations take place. And I would be willing to bet that Flomaton Police do not have a written procedure on chases. To my knowledge they do not have any officers much more than 30 years old at the oldest. Yes there are some good responsible young officers, but they are few and far between. I can tell you if the officer or the suspect had crashed into and injured or killed my family members, the town of Flomaton would be seeing a lawsuit as soon as I could get in touch with my lawyer. The Mayor of Flomaton needs to wake up and investigate inside this department and find out what their so called procedures are.
I” think” we have a common protocol around here to alert other Counties/States when your activities come into their jurisdiction. It wasn’t too long ago that an innocent man was killed in one of these chase scenes. Thank You Sheriff Morgan for Not letting this happen in Escambia County.
William is right here.
A Flomaton police shouldn’t pursue a chase beyond the state line for anything less than a serious felony. Too many lives are at risk. I think all police cars should have day and night vision micro mini cams in the front of the cars to retrieve tag numbers and definitive marks such as bumper stickers, rear window decals, dents or even paint flaws from a distance that the human eye can’t. Once this is achieved they can discontinue pursuit. This would save lives. It’s not worth risking lives to make an immediate arrest. They can’t hide forever.
Ok, my 1st ?, Where you there? I can’t understand how people can make comments on a situation about something and not even be there, the police have a procedure to follow, and I am glad they are here. my 2nd ? Do you think you could do a better job? I am sure glad these people are out there putting their life on the line so people can go to bed at night and not worry about what going on in the streets. its just hard for me to belive that people will pass judgement on police officers without thinking WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THEM!!!
Maybe they both the chaser and the chasee just wanted to see what it would do on top end.
i love how all you “armchair quarterbacks” rip apart situations. just read the story yeah nobody got shot or killed by a gun but who is to say had that officer not pursued the individual he would have not killed anybody. then it would have been a big deal that the officer not try to stop him. i could see the comments now. i will say it since most everyone else wants to put down Flomaton Police and that officer. Thank you for being brave enough to try and stop someone who claims to be armed and to want to hurt himself and someone else. for those of you trash talking would you try to stop a man claiming to have a gun and kill his self. that takes alot of courage. be grateful for what you have for you kn ow not what you have till it’s gone.
If the truck was speeding as the officer said,and the Fla officer stayed back to watch,the Fla officer sould have got involved ,because truck was speeding. and talk about safety,the officers dont seem to care driving like a bat out hell any other time..
Yeah, its hard to use your radio and hold that freshly brewed coffee from the Tom Thumb where they camp out all the time. When is Flomaton going to hire some officers to uphold the law w/ honesty and integrity instead of these young rookies who wants to try and be a gung ho hero at the expense of harrasing our local people here and town. Just for the record fellows the police station is down town, not at the Tom Thumb.
The police department has liability concerns when it comes to the safety of citizens. I applaud the Sheriff’s Office for not getting involved, this chase should have been called off earlier. I will say it again, you get what you pay for. It takes years on the force to gain common sense and to use your head in situations. Young rookies (not all) need interpersonal skills to talk with subjects and to gain control. Does Flomaton police have a pursuit policy? You can always catch them another day if it does not involve a danger to the community. This chase appears to have posed danger to the citizens in Florida and Alabama. Flomaton police need to review their policies and update themselves to liability issues.
I too question this.. Probably another young officer that doesn’t want someone hes trying to stop out do him. If the chase continued all the way to Molino that was plenty of time to radio ahead to get a road block or spikes.
Florida would not get involved in the pursuit because it did not meet their pursuit policy. We published an article about Escambia Florida’s policy a few months ago:
http://www.northescambia.com/?p=24868
The man in the vehicle, as far as I know, was not wanted for any crime, and certainly not a “forcible felony” as Escambia’s policy dictates.
They knew that someone told them he had a gun. He had not committed any crime. If you were headed back north on Hwy 29 early this morning, would you want your family killed by a guy and a Flomaton cop that slammed in to you just because they thought he might do something?
Personally, I question why the Flomaton officer chased someone not wanted for any crime through Century and miles down Highway 29 without ever notifying Florida.
Another one of us old hillbilly rednecks done got drunk and depressed and went crazy. If he would go to church instead of the local bar he wouldn’t have this problem.
So the individual got away? This is one of the few times that a pursuit should be continued, and exhibits the lack of communications between AL and FL authorities. Many states have enacted very specific laws / regulations regarding high speed pursuits, as they are inherently dangerous to the public at large. I wish the article had included information as to why FL called off the pursuit without becoming involved, however.
I wonder if the Flomaton officer lost him or just decided not to chase him anymore. Its also pretty sad that the Florida Deputies didn’t get involved. I know it wasn’t their decision to not get involved. The higher ups need to LET THEM DO THEIR JOB. I know that if I am chasing someone alone and another police officer intentionally doesn’t get involved…..me and he or she are about to have some problems.
you might outrun my old Chevrolet,
but you can’t outrun my old 2 way.
But it seems he did