- StarChase is a pursuit management system installed in patrol cars
- It shoots out a GPS tracker in the form of a dart on suspects’ cars
- John Bartlett was arrested after a Lucas County officer deployed the system
- This was the first time the department used one of the five units
John Bartlett was arrested after pointing a gun at an officer. The Ohio officer then used the system to track him down and make the arrest
New car chase technology has been credited with helping an Ohio police department track down a man who pointed a gun at one of their officers.
StarChase is a pursuit management system installed in the front of patrol cars that shoot out a GPS tracker which attaches to a suspect’s vehicle.
The Lucas County Sheriff’s Department used the device for the first time Monday night when an officer caught a man dumpster diving and asked him to leave.
The man then pulled a gun on the officer before getting in his car and fleeing.
The officer initiated the StarChase system and tagged the suspect’s car.
The dart stuck to the back of John Bartlett’s car, which allowed the officer and dispatchers to track the suspect with GPS rather than a high speed pursuit.
Bartlett was arrested and taken to the Lucas County Jail.
StarChase is a pursuit management system installed in patrol cars. Pictured above is a police cruiser that is ready to deploy the GPS dart
The dart is seen attached to the back of a car that would typically belong to a suspect (Bartlett’s car is not pictured)
‘They knew his location and speed and were able to get in front of him and get stop sticks out and stop him,’ Captain Matt Lettke told WTOL.
The StarChase system means police can avoid dangerous high-speed chases that often put officers, suspects and bystanders at risk.
‘We will mark this as a win because there was no serious injury or loss of life, we did not crash any of our vehicles and there were no citizens or the suspect hurt,’ said Lettke.
The Lucas County Sheriff’s Office purchased five units of the system with grant money more than a year ago.
The office now hopes this success story will allow more funding to purchase more StarChase systems for their cruisers.
The dual barrel launchers contain two tracking devices (left and right) and can be launched with a button on a key fob, carried by the officer