DASHCAM footage showed the moment police officers launched a GPS tracking dart onto a suspected burglar’s vehicle while in pursuit.
The new tracking tool, made by GPS company StarChase, was used during a recent hunt for a pair of suspects who allegedly broke into a liquor store in Oak Park, Illinois, about 30 minutes west of Chicago.
The GPS tag dart by StarChase[/caption]
Dashcam footage shows the moment the dart was launched out of the cop car[/caption]
The two suspects were fleeing the burglary on Thursday when cops were alerted to the escaping vehicles, quickly getting behind the speeding car.
An officer from Oak Brook, another suburb of Chicago, drove behind the alleged criminals’ vehicle and deployed the GPS tracking dart.
Video showed the tag dart shooting out of the squad car’s front and attaching to the vehicle being pursued.
Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis told NewsNation how the technology works.
“An officer presses a button and it heats up an epoxy for the actual dart,” Strockis said.
“That dart has a GPS tracking device inside of it and also has a very strong magnet that shoots out of the front of the bumper of the squad car and affixes itself to the back of the fleeing vehicle.”
After the dart stuck to the car, the cops could safely pull off and end the chase while they tracked the fleeing suspects.
The officer uses the GPS dart by backing off the chase, pulling up a computer screen, and tracking the dart’s location.
The GPS information was sent to Oak Park police after the vehicle exited around the area – leading to the suspects’ arrests.
Officers arrested the two suspects at around 4:45 am on Thursday.
“If you would have told me, I started 24 years ago, that we’d be shooting GPS darts out of the front of a squad car I would have said that you’re crazy, you know,” Strockis said.
“But technology is advancing so much, especially in law enforcement, that it’s just, it’s amazing to see where we’ve come.”
Strockis told CBS News the technology changes the nature of typical police pursuits.
“It makes all the difference in the world,” Strockis said.
StarChase’s full statement
StarChase shared the following statement about their technology after it was recently used to apprehend suspects in Chicago:
“StarChase is deployed at every level of law enforcement from federal, state DPS’s (25% of the nation’s state patrols), major counties/cities, and agencies of varying sizes down the line (in 40 states),” the company said to CBS News.
“The overwhelming majority of our agency-partners choose to maintain their anonymity for tactical reasons – which we honor as part of our relationship as a vendor.
“Notable agencies that have publicly acknowledged program adoption in the recent past, NYPD and Mass State Police. Both agencies have done sizable procurements and experienced significantly impactful results. We’ve far exceeded the 10k deployment number – almost 3-fold.
“Agencies are recognizing the imperative need to adopt different strategies and utilizing technology has been a significant investment to that end.
” Crime-recognition platforms (LPR, Cams, etc.) have become a necessity for law enforcement and StarChase remains committed to strategically aligning with those resources (Real-Time Crime Centers and Fusion Centers). Oak Brook PD utilizes this exact blueprint.
“Providing real-time data, when a pursuit (or pre-pursuit) deployment occurs is critical in providing law enforcement the information needed to ensure the appropriate response and resources are allocated to apprehend a suspect under the safest conditions possible.
“Our integration capabilities allow multiple tools to work collectively and collaboratively to de-escalate these potentially high-risk events.
“This dramatically improves the safety of the officer(s) and suspect(s) involved and the public writ large.”
“Police pursuits are inherently dangerous, but I also believe it’s very dangerous for criminals not to have any consequences.”
The darts make it possible for cops to safely track suspects without them knowing.
“There’s no warrant necessary to deploy this device,” Strockis said.
“We have reasonable suspicion and probable cause that vehicle is going to flee.
“It’s a public safety tool to not only keep the officers safe, but the public safe.”
NEW HORIZONS
Oak Brook police reported that they’re using the darts on a weekly basis – which means they’re helping neighboring police departments as well.
Now, CBS News reports that Chicago Police have discussed implementing the tech in their city.
StarChase said in a statement that the tool de-escalates high-risk situations.
“Our integration capabilities allow multiple tools to work collectively and collaboratively to de-escalate these potentially high-risk events,” the company said in a statement to CBS News.
“This dramatically improves the safety of the officer(s) and suspect(s) involved and the public writ large.”
