A police chase on Detroit’s west side turned into a reminder of something we see play out over and over again: you might be able to outrun a patrol car for a moment, but you are not outrunning the radio, and you are definitely not outrunning a helicopter.
Michigan State Police Metro Detroit shared the video on X (formerly Twitter) as part of its “Flying Friday” series, highlighting what it described as the lengths people will go to in an attempt to get away.
What they did not release were details about the suspect’s identity or any potential charges tied to the incident.
It Keeps Getting Worse From There
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Flying Friday: This edition shows the lengths criminals will go to in order to get away.
As you can see in the video, this suspect almost hit officers fleeing the stop, drove recklessly and ended up in several yards in this neighborhood.
Through the use of aviation the… pic.twitter.com/KgITvEhVXI
— MSP Second District (@mspmetrodet) April 10, 2026
According to reporting from ClickOnDetroit, troopers initially made contact with the driver near 7 Mile Road. Instead of stopping, the suspect fled, at one point nearly striking officers before speeding off through nearby streets.
The chase quickly left the roadway, with the driver cutting across grass, sidewalks, and multiple residential yards before eventually stopping and abandoning the vehicle in the middle of the street.
That is usually where these situations start to unravel.
You Can’t Hide From What’s Above You
From there, it turned into a foot chase, with the suspect running between houses, attempting to get into a home through a window, and then taking off again as officers closed in. What the suspect likely did not account for was the aviation unit overhead the entire time.
The helicopter audio captures just how quickly things escalated in real time. “Traveling through the yard on the south side of Curtis… slowing down… okay, he’s out on foot,” the dispatcher says, tracking each move as it happens. Moments later, the tone shifts as the situation becomes more serious: “He’s actually trying to get in the back of a window… window’s open… he’s halfway inside… and he’s gonna be inside now.”
Thermal imaging does not care about darkness, fences, or backyard cover. It tracks heat, and it keeps tracking, which is exactly why hiding under a backyard trampoline did not work the way the suspect may have expected. Even that moment is called out from above: “Backyard underneath the trampoline,” the voice says, calmly tracking the suspect’s position as officers close in.
He eventually crawled out, jumped a fence, and returned to the same yard, ending up surrounded by about a dozen officers.
The Part That Doesn’t Change
Michigan State Police said the suspect was taken into custody without injury to officers, the public, or the suspect. Even without full details on who the suspect is or what charges they may face, the broader takeaway is familiar.
What started as a traffic stop turned into reckless driving through neighborhoods, an attempted home entry, and a coordinated search that never really lost track of him.
It is always better to just pull over.