BPS arrests man after foot chase
Published 4:18 pm Friday, October 6, 2017
Bainbridge Public Safety officer Tim Shaw chased a man down North Clark Street Tuesday night after trying to pull him over for failure to maintain his lane.
Shaw initiated a traffic stop with a green truck driven by Joseph Hughes, 49, around 11 p.m. on Shotwell Street. When Hughes pulled over at the intersection of Shotwell and North Clark streets, he flung his door open and ran toward Bainbridge Little Theatre.
Shaw screamed for Hughes to stop, chasing after him. Hughes attempted to jump over a wooden gate behind the theatre, but knocked the gate over instead. Shaw caught up with the runner and tackled him.
Hughes resisted arrest, but Shaw was able to gain control and place him in handcuffs. EMS was dispatched to treat cuts on Hughes cheek and forehead from when he fell over the gate.
When asked why he ran, Hughes said because he did not have a license. E-911 also advised there were active warrants out of Ohio and Illinois for his arrest. Both states requested a hold to be placed on Hughes, who is from Whitesville, Kentucky.
Hughes was charged with criminal damage second degree (felony), driving without a valid license, obstruction of law enforcement, failure to maintain lane and failure to use turn signal. He was transported to the Decatur County Jail.