Driveway is brief stop in two-state police chase

Nick Morford had an unusual excuse handy if he was late for work Tuesday.

Morford walked out his front door just in time to see a police officer pull into his driveway, drawing a handgun and pointing it toward the driver of another car in Morford’s driveway.

“It’s one of those things that you just see on TV and you would never think you would witness something like that,” said Morford, who lives near Rolling Prairie.

Morford said he saw the man exit the car and be repeatedly told by LaPorte County Sheriff’s Deputy Alex Clemons to remove his hand from his pocket.

What Morford did not know at the time was the car in his driveway had been reported stolen in Illinois, and a license platereading Flock Safety Camera had alerted police the stolen SUV was eastbound on U.S. 20.

Clemons had seen the vehicle turning into Hunter’s Run subdivision near Wilhelm Road.

Morford said Clemons also shouted at Morford to go back inside his house. Morford complied but continued to watch the encounter through a window. From there, Morford said, he saw the man jump back into the SUV and flee.

Police said the officer went after the suspect, who returned to U.S. 20 and headed westbound for a short distance.

After a U-turn, police said the suspect began traveling eastbound on U.S. 20 before heading southbound on 525 West.

Eventually, police said, the fleeing driver doubled back to U.S. 35 and turned left on U.S. 20 before heading west on Interstate 94.

Police said the 43year-old driver merged onto the Indiana Toll Road in Lake County and continued on until reaching a Chicago Skyway toll plaza, where he was taken into custody.

The suspect was being held by authorities in Illinois pending extradition to LaPorte County to face charges.

Officers from several agencies were all involved in the pursuit.

LaPorte County Police Capt. Derek Allen said he did not know why the suspect was in the area, but the sheriff’s department has Flock Safety Cameras at different locations in the unincorporated areas of LaPorte County. He said they were offered through a partnership between the sheriff’s office and the Indiana branch of what’s known as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area organization. License plate numbers along with descriptions of vehicles linked to criminal activity or suspects in crimes are downloaded into the cameras.

Last week, a Flock camera in Michigan City was credited with the arrests of two individuals from Washington state suspected to be part of a nationwide theft ring.