Chattanooga Times Free Press

Hamilton County deputies use successful PIT maneuver for arrest

- BY PATRICK FILBIN Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreep­ress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFil­bin.

Deputies with the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office successful­ly used a precision immobiliza­tion technique or PIT maneuver to arrest a man who had intentiona­lly rammed a Sequatchie County Deputy’s vehicle and led deputies on a high-speed pursuit.

On Saturday at about 11:30 a.m., William J. Jordan was seen driving a white 2005 Chevrolet Astro van and rammed into a deputy’s vehicle in Sequatchie County, officials said. According to the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, Jordan also threw a handgun out of the window of the Astro van and took off.

Jordan crossed the county line on Highway 111 when Sequatchie County dispatch lost radio contact with the sole pursuing deputy. Soddy-Daisy Police radioed in at the time and notified dispatcher­s the van was reportedly stolen.

Hamilton County deputies picked up the chase in Lakesite and the chase continued south on Hixson Pike where Jordan allegedly showed “disregard for the safety of the motorists” around him. Law enforcemen­t agencies who use the sometimes controvers­ial PIT maneuver must decide if a driver is putting others in harm’s way in order to use the move. It involves a pursuer using their vehicle to force the fleeing vehicle into a spin, causing it to stop.

Near the 5900 block of Hixson Pike, the decision was made to use the PIT maneuver “due to the fact the pursuit was headed towards a heavily populated area,” according to a news release from the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office.

The maneuver was made on Hixson Pike, where deputies successful­ly stopped Jordan and the vehicle.

During the arrest, Jordan resisted and had to be pulled from the vehicle and was shocked by a Sequatchie County deputy with a Taser. Jordan was transporte­d to Memorial North to be medically evaluated and was turned over to the Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Office.

Jordan is being charged in Hamilton County with reckless endangerme­nt, evading arrest and resisting.

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