Charges: Man With Suspended License Leads Officers On Dangerous Chase
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Brooklyn Park man is in jail after a weekend police chase reached speeds of 150 miles per hour.
Jorell Coppage, 27, faces one felony charge of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. Coppage is accused of taking law enforcement on a nearly hour-long chase that lasted about 80 miles and wound through several metro area towns.
According to the criminal complaint, a trooper noticed a group of five motorcyclists speeding on I-94 in Minneapolis. When a trooper turned on his lights, the motorcycle drivers took off. The trooper followed one of the lead motorcyclists and a chase followed.
The criminal complaint said speeds reached 150 miles per hour as the suspect drove north on 35E. At one point, the driver even went the wrong way against traffic.
Police backed off several times, allowing the helicopter to keep tabs on the driver.
State Patrol Lt. Chris Edstrom said the decision of when to pursue and when to fall back is key to any chase.
"Our biggest concern is the person we're pursuing or someone else getting injured or killed," Lt. Edstrom said.
In a crowded city the risk goes up even more. The most recent data from the BCA shows in 2013, of the 889 chases, 12 percent were called off.
"They start running red lights, going up freeway ramps and back down because, then, it's clear they don't have a lot to lose there," Lt. Edstrom said.
According to the complaint, Coppage eventually turned back south near the Wyoming exit and continued to evade law enforcement through the streets of Minneapolis. He eventually ditched the bike on Ilion Ave. N. and ran away. Police later found him hiding in a cellar on James Ave. N. Nearly an hour after the chase first started, it ended without any injuries.
"That says everyone involved was extremely lucky," Lt. Edstrom said.
According to the criminal complaint he didn't stop for State Patrol because he had a suspended license.
If convicted, Coppage faces more than three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
