Suspect turns himself in
Ellijay Police Department (EPD) engaged in a high-speed chase after a motorcyclist fled Thursday, June 11.
But in the end, Flock cameras proved essential in tracking down the suspect.
High-speed chases are one of the most dangerous activities a law enforcement officer can engage in, East Ellijay Public Safety Director Larry Callahan said.
“You’ve just got so many variables you can’t control,” he said. “You’ve got all these other motorists and all this stuff going on. You don’t know what other people want to do.”
Usually, EPD officers have tight guidelines on when they are allowed to chase suspects. But these guidelines often have exceptions, Callahan said. Often, people risk their life trying to outrun police because they are involved in a very serious crime.
“There’s usually a reason they run,” he said.
The events leading to the chase began when EPD Officer Christopher Hawthorne received a Flock camera notification that a tattooed man in a black shirt with a skull on it was riding a black motorcycle with a suspended license plate was driving on Highland Crossing, according to the EPD incident report.
He drove to find the vehicle, but when he tried to pull behind it, it started rapidly changing lanes without signaling.
Eventually the motorcycle accelerated to 80 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone, Hawthorne estimated in the report. At points, it was just a few feet away from other vehicles as it wove between them.
The motorcyclist wove around a white van, which then pulled out in front of Hawthorne. To avoid hitting it, he swerved his car onto a cemented curb, shredding two of his tires. This decision rendered his vehicle undriveable.
Choices like these are a difficult reality of law enforcement. One mistake can mean disaster.
“It can take years to weigh out whether or not we made the right decision, but we have to make it instantly,” Callahan said.
The chase didn’t end there. Between anonymous tips and Flock cameras, officers were able to track the motorcycle and examine its license plate.
They discovered the plate wasn’t even the motorcycle’s own tag, the incident report read. It belonged to a different motorcycle.
Additional research led officers to believe the motorcycle’s driver was Joshua Lowery, a man known to Gilmer law enforcement.
Flock cameras proved key in establishing this link. Using the network, Hawthorne was able to track Lowery to a Walmart and learned that he had cashed a check there under his own name.
Community tips also helped confirm Lowery’s identity.
Lowery’s driver’s license was suspended, and he had no motorcycle license.
Hawthorne got warrants for Lowery for the offenses of fleeing police, using a tag to conceal identity, reckless driving, improper lane change, driving with a suspended tag, following too closely, failure to maintain lane, operating without a proper decal, driving with a suspended license and speeding.
After the warrants went public, Lowery contacted the EPD through Facebook, said he was sorry for running and asked if Hawthorne was okay. He promised to turn himself in the next day.
“I think the officer did a very good job, as far as dodging the accident and to take the time to track [the suspect] down,” Callahan said. “It was just a good outcome.”