A high-speed chase, an attack on an officer and three times the normal speeding tickets were all part of police activity in Lowell during September. The Lowell Police Department also updated its body cameras to a new and improved model.
In total, the Lowell Police Department had 247 reports filed for September 2022, including the following:
- 43 assists to other agencies
- 27 suspicious situations
- 24 general and motorist assists
- 15 driving law violations
- 14 traffic accidents
- 3 animal issues
- 2 disorderly conduct
- 2 missing persons
- 1 ordinance violation
- 1 larceny
- 1 obscenity
Lowell officers also made 164 traffic stops that resulted in 48 citations.
High Speed Pursuit into Town
On September 16, Lowell officers helped apprehend a group of individuals being pursued by the Ionia Department of Public Safety and Michigan State Police. The group was reportedly going through vehicles in the parking lot of an Ionia apartment complex at 2am. When Ionia officers arrived, the suspects sped away and police pursued.
The suspects drove down M-21 toward Lowell, and stop sticks were deployed near Saranac but did not disable the vehicle. A Lowell officer deployed another set of stop sticks near the city’s eastern border, and those apparently did enough damage to the tires to stop the vehicle near Riverside Drive.
The suspects – three juveniles and an adult — took off on foot but were quickly apprehended. The truck they were driving was apparently stolen from Howell, and it was believed to contain other stolen items.
A Lowell resident who lives on Main Street and witnessed the chase described it as “lots of smoke” and “so many police cars.”
Assault on an Officer
An officer was dispatched to check on a resident who was apparently making threats of self-harm. The individual was cooperative with the officer initially, but there was a delay in EMS arriving to transport the person for evaluation.
The person became agitated and jumped on the officer’s back, wrapping his arm around the officer’s neck. The officer had to deploy his taser to break free from the individual. He then restrained the person and deescalated the situation until help arrived.
The individual was placed in a facility and is expected to be charged with aggravated assault once discharged.
Other September Cases
The Lowell Police Department saw an increase in driving law violations that was a result of stepped-up traffic patrols. The department also issued nearly three times as many speeding tickets as normal. This was all in response to resident complaints about speeding traffic on major roadways in the city.
There was also one case of uttering and publishing related to a falsified check. Police say individuals will steal checks and then “wash” them to remove the writing before addressing it to a new person. They find someone – often a homeless individual – who is willing to cash a check in exchange for payment.
That was the case in this situation, in which an individual was brought to Lowell to try to cash a falsified check. However, the bank employee recognized there was a problem with the check and notified police.
New Body Cameras Deployed
Lowell police officers have been outfitted with new body cameras that will eliminate the need for officers to manually turn on their cameras in many instances. The new devices are configured to automatically turn on whenever an officer activates his or her vehicle’s lights or initiates a hard brake.
Officers can also view footage on their department phone to assist with writing reports, and the new storage system makes it easier to store and retrieve videos.
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