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A man trying to escape police led them in a "top-speed" narrowboat chase along a local canal for eight miles, traveling at only a meager 4 mph.
Pursuing officers patiently followed their suspect along the Grand Union Canal in Leicester, England on Thursday. In an effort to evade arrest, the unnamed 37-year-old decided to make a run for it via boat, Leicester Live reported.
"For 15 years I've been trying to tick off a water-based pursuit in landlocked Leicester & today I've ticked it off!" the officer tweeted yesterday. "8 miles it took to catch up & one male in custody for various [offenses]."
Cops estimated that the boat at top speed moved no faster than 4 mph. As the suspect frantically tried to get away, a pursuing officer took a leisurely bike ride on the path next to the water to keep an eye on him.
"My bike top speed I'd say [is] 12-15mph," the cop tweeted, noting that a wheel sustained a puncture toward the end of the chase. "I wasn't drunk. Neither was he."
Several on the platform found the ordeal highly amusing, with one viewer even joking, "I like to think it was like the boat chase in James Bond Live and Let Die."
For 15 years I've been trying to tick off a water based pursuit in landlocked Leicester & today I've ticked it off! 8 miles it took to catch up & one male in custody for various offences. Thanks to @LPSpecialOps @LPOadbyWigston Worth mentioning @CanalRiverTrust too! Regards 2168 pic.twitter.com/S2Pks497g5
— Leicester City Police (@LPCityCentre) April 28, 2021
Leicester Live reported that when the boat made its way to dry land, another officer hidden underneath some nearby brush was able to detain the suspect as he tried to dock.
A police spokesperson told the outlet that the man was wanted on charges of assault and breaking a restraining order issued last week.
"It was alleged that a man, subject to a restraining order preventing him from doing so, arrived at the address and during the incident, a 15-year-old boy was assaulted," the woman told Leicester Live.
Luckily, the boy was not harmed, she added.
"Officers obtained a direction of travel for the boat, as it had since left, and an officer, who was on a cycle, set upon following its route," she said. "The boat was located traveling in the Glen Parva area and after further officers were called to assist, the suspect was arrested as he left the boat to travel through a lock."
The suspect is now in police custody. The pursuing officer later tweeted, "Sometimes I can't believe I get paid to do this. Any chance of a pay rise?"
Though the stakes were much lower in the arrest of this "escape artist," a high-speed chase in Indiana ended with cops finding a dismembered body.
