Citizens’ response to Merced County police pursuit added to danger, says law enforcement

Police said a low-speed vehicle pursuit Wednesday from Atwater to Merced was apparently the result of three tourists not understanding officers were chasing them, the Atwater Police Department reported.

However, Lt. Samuel Joseph said, while the people in the vehicle were ultimately harmless, the way several people in Merced responded to the police activity created potentially “an extremely dangerous” situation.

“When the officers finally got these guys stopped, people – citizens – were getting out of their cars in the middle of the road and interfering with officers; creating traffic hazards and distracting the officers while the situation was still going on,” Joseph said.

Joseph said the driver and two passengers in a brown Ford Taurus were released without incident after an extended pursuit. “They all had verified … passports and honestly did not realize or understand the officers wanted them to pull over,” Joseph said.

Atwater police tried to stop the vehicle just after 9 a.m. after the driver didn’t stop at a traffic sign on Atwater Boulevard. The vehicle did not pull over when officers put on their lights and sirens. “They never drove faster than about 50 mph,” Joseph said.

Officers followed the vehicle onto Highway 99 and into Merced. The vehicle ultimately stopped in the area of 16th and V streets in Merced.

“As the officers were trying to make their way to the vehicle, several people in the area began filming with their phone, taking pictures – which would be fine, but not when there’s a potentially dangerous situation developing and you’re creating traffic hazards and other issues,” Joseph said.

Joseph said multiple people refused to back away when instructed to do so by the officers, including at least one person standing in a potential line of fire, while police were trying to determine whether the people in the vehicle were dangerous. One woman, whose name was not released, apparently stopped her vehicle “in the middle of the road” and began filming the police.

“When the officers told her to step back, she responded, ‘Are you going to shoot me?’” Joseph said. “It was apparently very sarcastic, and now the officer is trying to pay attention to her to make sure she’s not in danger, and she’s causing more danger for herself, the public and the officers.”

Merced police Capt. Bimley West said officers were relieved the people in the vehicle did not turn out to be dangerous, but said, under different circumstances, those residents interfering could have made a difficult situation worse.

“What we need from residents in those situations is cooperation,” West said. “Taking pictures and filming videos is not a problem and has even been useful to us in the past, but that has to be done in a safe area, at a safe distance.”

Officers decided not to arrest any residents for obstruction or interfering with a police investigation.

“The important thing really is that no one was hurt,” Joseph said. “But that type of activity is a major concern.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2014 at 1:28 PM with the headline "Citizens’ response to Merced County police pursuit added to danger, says law enforcement."