Police Car

SOUTH BEND – The Tribune has received the video from the police car of an officer accused of hitting a fleeing suspect with his vehicle. The video – provided to The Tribune on Thursday and available online here – contains footage from the dashboard-mounted camera of Patrolman Nick McKinley on the morning of Nov. 5. That video was the central piece of evidence in a Board of Public Safety hearing Monday, in which McKinley argued that...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 300-pound chimpanzee that broke free from its chains has been captured after briefly wandering around a Kansas City neighborhood and smashing out the window of a police car. Police Capt. Rich Lockhart tells The Kansas City Star the department got a call about noon Tuesday that a primate was on the loose a few miles from the Kansas City Zoo. Lockhart says the ape was actually a pet that escaped from its chains. Lockhart says efforts to shoot the animal, named Sueko, with a tranquilizer dart failed.

LAPORTE - Two suspects in an armed robbery in La Porte early Thursday were soon captured. During the chase, one of the alleged criminals bailed from the fleeing car and was hit by a police vehicle. Also confiscated was heroin, which has become a growing problem in the LaPorte area the past year or two, police said. Shane Cooper, 19, was being treated at LaPorte Hospital for injuries to his lower extremities, said LaPorte County Police deputy Andy Hynek. The seriousness of his injuries and condition were not known.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Authorities in western Ohio say a burglary suspect traveling in a police cruiser used his head to break a window and escape on a bridge, then jumped to his death. Dayton police Lt. Kim Hill tells the Dayton Daily News the officer transporting the suspect Saturday night pulled over after the man began banging his head on a rear window. Hill says the suspect went head-first out the window and dove over the side of the bridge. Part of the bridge crosses the Great Miami River, but police say the man fell several stories onto on a flat, rocky area.

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Police say a man arrested on suspicion of burglary tried to escape by jumping from the window of a moving patrol car while his hands were still cuffed behind his back. KSL-TV reported Wednesday that 20-year-old Nicholas Duffy was being driven to Salt Lake County Jail when he complained of feeling ill and said he was going to vomit. An officer lowered a rear window slightly. Duffy unbuckled himself minutes later and climbed out the window while the vehicle was traveling at about 30 mph on Interstate 15. Police say Duffy was quickly taken back into custody and brought to a local hospital for minor injuries.

COLOMA, Mich. - A reckless motorcyclist outran police as he was being pursued Tuesday afternoon on I-94 in Berrien County, but the high-speed chase came to a sudden end when the bike crashed head-on into a squad car. WSBT spoke with Michigan State Police Trooper Russell Bawks, who said police spotted the speeding motorcycle at the 52 mile marker near Lawrence, veering in and out of traffic, passing cars on the right side of 94 as he was...

MARSHALL COUNTY — Three people were injured in a two-car crash that involved a Marshall County sheriff’s deputy Tuesday. A preliminary investigation by crash reconstructionists from the Indiana State Police Bremen Post revealed that Marshall County Patrolman Les McFarland, 42, of Bourbon, was driving a police car westbound on Indiana 110 at U.S. 31 in southern Marshall County shortly after noon. McFarland stopped for northbound traffic but failed to see or yield to a southbound vehicle driven by Timothy Anderson, 44, of Granger.

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - State police say a man who fired on two Muncie police officers is dead, one officer is hospitalized in stable condition and the other was treated and released following a shootout in a convenience store parking lot near the Ball State University campus. State police Sgt. John Bowling says authorities don't know why the man began shooting at police. He says the man was sitting in his car backed into a parking spot and began shooting through his windshield when an unmarked police car and a marked police car pulled in. The driver of the unmarked car was hit in the shoulder, but it was stopped by his bulletproof vest.

PORTER COUNTY - An Indiana State Police trooper got quite a scare early Wednesday when he stopped to help a stranded motorist and was hit. ISP Sgt. Ann Wojas says a preliminary investigation shows that Master Trooper Jeff Council stopped behind a disabled vehicle on I-94 at the 31.5 mile marker, 2 ½ miles west of the Michigan City exit, around 1:15 a.m. Both Council's marked squad car and the disabled vehicle were pulled completely off...

SOUTH BEND - The man who police shot in front of South Bend's Perley Primary Center on Eddy Street Saturday has officially been charged. Police say 37-year-old Joseph Stambaugh tried to speed away from officers during a traffic stop and slammed into at least two squad cars. That's when they opened fire. For a police description of the events surrounding the shooting, read the probable cause affidavit here . Stambaugh has been charged with the following with possibly more charges to come: Operating a vehicle after a lifetime suspension of drivi ng privileges, a Class C felony; resisting law enforcement, a Class D felony; possession of cocaine within 1,000 feet of school property, a Class B felony; possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; and false informing, a class B misdemeanor.

MIDDLEBURY - A Goshen woman is dead after a two-car crash near Middlebury early Wednesday morning. Elkhart County police say around 1:20 a.m., 40-year-old Arellano Eustolia was heading south on State Road 13, about a mile south of Middlebury's town limits when she made a left-hand turn to head east onto County Road 20. At the same time, another car was coming from behind and tried to pass a separate car, failing to see Eustolia making the...

One person is in critical condition after a crash involving a state trooper at Linden and West Ireland roads Thursday night. CLICK HERE FOR A MAP Here is the news release from state police issued early Friday morning: South Bend, IN-An Indiana State Police Trooper along with a 19 year old Mishawaka man and a 20 year old South Bend woman were hospitalized tonight following a two vehicle c rash involving the...

MILFORD - A Kosciusko County teenager is in the juvenile center after getting mad at his parents. He took a baseball bat and machete, got on a skid loader and slammed into two police cars. The 15-year-old unidentified Milford teenager is facing aggravated battery charges for using a Bobcat loader Saturday night to ram police who were chasing him. Police say it all started after the teen got angry at his mom over his bedtime. "All of a sudden, I was like, what in the heck was going on," says Richard Hochstetler, who saw flashing police lights outside his house on County Road 300 West Saturday night.  "There was just cops all over...probably 10 or 12 of them on the next road over," explained Hochstetler.

SOUTH BEND - It may be much more than just not making a police report and then lying about it that has a decorated South Bend police officer on the hot seat. Patrolman Chris Bortone is on paid administrative leave for failing to file a report after a shoplifting incident he investigated and then lying about it. The department is recommending Bortone be fired. There was a lengthy hearing Tuesday before South Bend's Board of Public Safety regarding Bortone. During the hearing, there was testimony Bortone has a "past history" during his 10 years on the force.  Just five years ago, a smiling Bortone excepted his Officer of the Year award for arresting a suspect wanted for a string of arsons on the city's southeast side.  Fast forward to Tuesday's hearing when a serious, straight-faced Bortone dodged allegations he lied about why he did not make a police report after he investigated a theft at the Meijer store on Portage Road on March 31. Interim Police Chief Chuck Hurley and former Unit Division Chief Jeffrey Walters both testified they are recommending Bortone be fired for more than just this latest incident.

SOUTH BEND - A man who police shot in front of South Bend's Perley Primary Center on Eddy Street in May has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Police say 38-year-old Joseph Stambaugh tried to speed away from officers during a traffic stop and slammed into at least two squad cars before police opened fire. Stambaugh was found guilty on five criminal counts after a two-day jury trial nearly a month ago and learned his sentence Wednesday before Judge John Marnocha. He was found driving without a license and was convicted of Operating a Motor Vehicle After a Lifetime Suspension of Driving Privileges, Resisting Law Enforcement, Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Marijuana and False Informing.

COLOMA, Mich. - A reckless motorcyclist outran police as he was being pursued Tuesday afternoon on I-94 in Berrien County, but the high-speed chase came to a sudden end when the bike crashed head-on into a squad car. WSBT spoke with Michigan State Police Trooper Russell Bawks, who said police spotted the speeding motorcycle at the 52 mile marker near Lawrence, veering in and out of traffic, passing cars on the right side of 94 as he was...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - An effort to crack down on underage drinking and other alcohol-related behaviors is yielding results at six college campuses across the state, but some students say it's taken the fun out of tailgating before a game. Officers from the Indiana Excise Police are targeting Ball State, Indiana State, Notre Dame, Purdue, Butler and Indiana universities this fall as part of the Intensified College Enforcement program. The goal: to "essentially change behavior," said Cpl. Travis Thickstun, spokesman for the excise police.

SOUTH BEND - A family claims South Bend police officers stormed into their home in the middle of the night and then punched and used a stun gun on their 17-year-old son who did nothing to deserve it. Now, a local activist group is calling for the United States Department of Justice to investigate and demanding answers from the city. The alleged incident happened more than four months ago - on June 7. Dan and Vivian Franklin said they didn't know it at the time, but officers were apparently looking for their 21-year-old son after a report of domestic violence a few blocks away.  The Franklins said cops banged on their front door at 3 a.m., shined flashlights in her face then charged in.  “They made me come outside and sit on the porch,” Vivian said.

MICHIGAN CITY - A pair of new police cars are about to hit the streets of Michigan City, and you might be amazed what they look like. The city through South Shore Clean Cities has received a donation from the “THINK” Electric Car Company of two electric cars for the police department.  “In January, I began to inquire about the cars and their possible use,” said Michigan City Police Sgt. Chris Yagelski. “I thought the uniqueness of the cars and the fact that they were 100% “green” led me to the possible creation of a new public relations tool for the police department.