Man arrested following police chase, PIT maneuver in Pocatello - East Idaho News
Pocatello

Man arrested following police chase, PIT maneuver in Pocatello

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POCATELLO (KPVI) – Pocatello police officers arrested a wanted man Friday morning around 4 a.m. after spotting him driving a red minivan near the 300 block of East Benton Street.

“We’d actually kind of been looking for this guy,” explains Lt. John Walker. “He’s a violent felon. There are problems there and those problems affect our town and community’s safety, and so he’s somebody that we want to get picked up.”

Corporal Alan Jackson was patrolling the area of 4th Avenue and Benton Street near Albertson’s when he recognized 45-year-old Terry Sutterfield of Pocatello.

Police say he had multiple warrants out for his arrest, including an outstanding felony warrant for battery on a police officer.

Corporal Jackson called for backup and tried to pull Sutterfield over. Sutterfield took off. Police were able to stop him near the intersection of Benton and Main using a PIT maneuver. PIT stands for pursuit intervention technique and involves bumping the tail end of the suspect’s car to spin it out. Backup vehicles then surround the car so the driver can’t take off again.

“We usually don’t use that PIT maneuver unless it’s a violent felon or there’s (an) extra level of danger that’s posed to the public if we don’t stop this individual,” says Lt. Walker.

Walker says Sutterfield tried to run even after being blocked on all sides. He rammed the patrol vehicle blocking the front end of the car multiple times.

Dash camera footage shows smoke coming off the tires as Sutterfield tries to escape.

Sutterfield further resisted arrest and the officers had to force him to the ground.

“He fought with officers all the way out of the car and clear to the ground,” explains Lt. Walker. “They took him to the ground, and that’s a technique we use for safety. (Officers) laid him on his belly and put him in handcuffs. Because it involves a car crash and because it involves a use of force where we took him to the ground, we took him to the hospital to have him evaluated by a medical professional to make sure he’s okay.”

Once given the okay by medical professionals, police booked Sutterfield into the Bannock County Jail.

Police say no force would have been used had Sutterfield chosen to cooperate.

“It breaks our heart when a suspect refuses to cooperate and force is used. It’s the last thing we want to do, but what’s most important to us is to protect the community, then our officers,” says Lt. Walker. “At any point, he could have pulled over to the curb, put the car in park (and) turned it off.”

As for the officers, Lt. Walker says they acted appropriately, adding, “We trust them implicitly and they did a great job.”

Sutterfield may be charged with resisting and obstructing an officer, as well as a misdemeanor charge for eluding an officer.

When the officers performed the PIT maneuver, Sutterfield had slowed down to roughly 27 miles per hour. This lower speed keeps the eluding charge at a misdemeanor level rather than a felony.

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