INDIANAPOLIS -- A bystander helped an Indiana State Trooper catch a fleeing suspect on Wednesday.
The incident began when the trooper tried to pull a vehicle over on suspicion of a suspended owner.
The only person in the vehicle was the driver, who pulled into the parking lot of a business near 21st and Shadeland Avenue when Master Trooper Shanna Kennedy initiated the stop.
The suspect then got out of the car and began walking away.
Kennedy caught up to him, asking for identification. The man refused several times before Kennedy tried to put him in handcuffs. The man resisted and was able to get away and run.
The bystander, Derek Crutchfield, saw the altercation from his truck. He got out and yelled to Kennedy, asking if she needed help. Kennedy replied "Yes," and Crutchfield got out and chased the suspect.
The chase lasted about 200 yards, police said, before Kennedy and Crutchfield restrained the suspect.
Chijioke Joshua Uzoanya, 48, was arrested on preliminary charges of resisting law enforcement and driving while suspended.
Troopers note that while this incident ended positively, bystanders should be extremely careful before trying to help law enforcement. They say Crutchfield did the right thing by first asking Kennedy if she needed help before intervening.
