OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown® Helped Police Safely Apprehend a Violent Suspect
OnStar technology recently diffused a dangerous situation in Maryland. Fruitland Police Department received a call that a man with a violent criminal history assaulted and carjacked a local woman and fled the scene with unknown intentions. Fortunately, the police quickly realized that the stolen GM vehicle was equipped with OnStar, which might be able to help with its Stolen Vehicle Assistance* service.
Officer John Marton-Rollins was on the case and immediately thought to contact OnStar. Due to his self-proclaimed interest in “anything to do with cars and technology,” he knew of OnStar’s safety services and the possibility that they might be able to assist in locating the vehicle. Marton-Rollins explained the exigent circumstances of the carjacking and confirmed the stolen vehicle status with the OnStar Emergency Advisor, who was able to quickly locate the vehicle using GPS satellite technology and aerial imagery.
The stolen vehicle was in a stationary position near a house that was outside of Fruitland PD’s jurisdiction. The officers were hesitant to approach the suspect at the house, as there were several indications that it wasn’t a safe environment for a high-risk arrest.
Fruitland PD decided to wait until the suspect was in the vehicle away from the house. Advisors monitored the vehicle’s location and notified officers when the vehicle began to move again. Because the suspect was heading into a neighboring community, Fruitland PD and OnStar were able to collaborate with law enforcement from adjacent jurisdictions, who assisted with the planning and coordination of the arrest.
A Combined Effort
Fruitland PD, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State Police worked together to determine the safest plan to apprehend the suspect. After being briefed on how OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service worked, law enforcement determined that would be an ideal tool to use in this case.
Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is one of several services under OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Assistance umbrella. Once OnStar verifies with law enforcement that a vehicle is being treated as stolen, Stolen Vehicle Slowdown enables Emergency Advisors to safely slow down the vehicle. Once officers have sight of the vehicle and conditions are appropriate, OnStar will activate the vehicle’s external hazard lights to verify it is the correct vehicle. Once confirmed, OnStar will activate the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown process at law enforcement’s request, which will slow the vehicle to an idle speed of about 3-5 miles per hour, depending on the terrain. The accelerator also will be deactivated while the steering and braking are left intact for a safer stop.
In this situation, law enforcement monitored the suspect’s route relayed by the OnStar Emergency Advisor and decided the best place to make the stop was on an area bridge.
“It was decided that the Vienna Bridge was the most ideal location for OnStar to conduct a slowdown and the likelihood for the suspect to flee from that location would be more difficult and undesirable for him because there’s just nowhere for him to go,” said Corporal Wescott Jones of the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department.
The suspect was arrested on the bridge without incident.
“Everything went perfectly, like textbook,” Jones says. “After the suspect was taken into custody, he did advise that, if the vehicle had not come to a slowdown and stop, and he was not on the bridge, that he was certainly going to flee from any traffic stop that was going to be performed by law enforcement.”
Law enforcement credits the quick thinking of officers, cooperation between departments and OnStar technology for bringing this dangerous situation to a safe conclusion.
For more information on Stolen Vehicle Assistance, including Stolen Vehicle Slowdown, click here.
* Requires paid plan, working electrical system, cell reception, GPS signal, armed GM factory-installed theft-deterrent system, contact method on file and enrollment to receive alerts. Additional messaging and data rates may apply. Services are intended to assist with vehicle recovery and do not prevent theft or protect against damage or loss. Check here for details and limitations.
