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Video released of 'relentless pursuit' where officers tracked down suspected car thieves from the sky

In a tweet, APD said the suspected car thieves were spotted in Downtown Atlanta, but they made it all the way to Chamblee leading authorities on a pursuit.

CHAMBLEE, Ga. — Atlanta Police released video of their Air Unit in action as they teamed up with Georgia State Patrol to stop alleged car thieves who led authorities on a chase. Police were able to keep track of their movements from the sky.

In a social media post, APD said the suspected car thieves were spotted in Downtown Atlanta, but they made it all the way to Chamblee. They had eyes on the fleeing vehicle from the APD Air Unit/Phoenix 1, officers said. 

The video released picks up with the speeding car heading north on Clairmont Road near the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. As the car approached heavy traffic, the driver continue through an intersection and crashed shortly after, hitting a car head-on. 

The video then shows two people jumping out of the car, including the driver. With the two people running from the scene split in different directions, the camera continues to follow the runaway driver.

This video speaks for itself. When APD Air Unit/Phoenix 1 and Georgia State Patrol (GSP) team up, car thieves don't stand a chance. GSP and APD work together to catch stolen car thieves spotted in downtown Atl. The thieves' escape route led them to Chamblee, where the arrest was made. We continue to be amazed at the skills of our Air Unit team and how much they do to fight crime in partnership with the officers on the ground. We are happy they were able to assist GSP in this incident and that together they were able to make this arrest. Special thanks to Dekalb-Peachtree Airport, for allowing our relentless pursuit of criminals in their airspace. It's the eyes in the sky for us.

Posted by City of Atlanta Police Department on Friday, May 6, 2022

One can hear police call out the direction each person went. As they run, law enforcement cruisers pull up to the scene.

"That's the driver right there, left side, northbound. He's coming back to the vehicle," the officer said in the video. "Passenger ran eastbound. Driver northbound behind the building."

Moments later, the driver who is still running on foot, tries to hop over a fence. The person then runs in the opposite direction, goes down some stairs, and falls. By that point, law enforcement officers had already caught up to the runaway driver.

"This video speaks for itself," APD said in the post.

"We continue to be amazed at the skills of our Air Unit team and how much they do to fight crime in partnership with the officers on the ground. We are happy they were able to assist GSP in this incident and that together they were able to make this arrest," the post added.

 They also thanked Dekalb-Peachtree Airport for allowing the "relentless pursuit of criminals in their airspace."

"It's the eyes in the sky for us," they added.



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