My wife recently had surgery so we have a temporary handicap sticker for the car. I tell you this to explain why we were parked so close to one of the three doors into Wal-Mart. We were at the one in the area that everyone refers to as The Valley here in Chesterfield. It is beautiful river bottom farm land that they have lamentably converted into multiple strip malls anchored by the ever present huge box stores.
I was backing my wife’s Subaru from the aforementioned spot when I noticed two of Chesterfield’s finest exit the middle entryway of this huge Supercenter Wal-Mart. They looked for all the world like a couple of hound dogs on the scent. It was obvious that they were on full alert and were looking left and right. What is important to note about these two policemen was that they were young and must not have been on the force very long as they still look fit.
Suddenly they were focused to their right, towards the door that is associated with the garden center. I looked that way too. At almost the same instant there was a black man exiting with a cart. His color would be non-consequential except Chesterfield is a notoriously white suburb of St. Louis. The police force also has a bit of a reputation with the black community that is less than favorable. The other interesting physical characteristic of this gentleman was that he had a fairly substantial belly.
Upon seeing the cops headed his way who were in much haste, he abandoned his cart and took off running. I do believe that this was an automatic response. If he had thought a minute surely he would acted differently. Whether it was thought he was shoplifting, using a stolen credit card or something all together different I will never know. I did do a web search for a story or police record of this, and I could not find anything.
What is interesting about this chase is that the suspect had nowhere to go. This area is as flat as a pancake. It is a huge strip mall with massive amounts of parking in front of the various stores. There are no alleys to duck down; there are no parks to run through. Even if he could have out distanced the two, young, fit officers, there was nowhere to hide. Plus it was in the middle of the afternoon on a bright, sunny day.
Last I saw of the chase in my rear-view mirror, the pursued had crossed a busy street and was in the parking area of the adjacent large strip mall. I did not see the policemen, but I am sure they were closing in. I cannot imagine this rather large man successfully fleeing the younger men since there was a lack of any cover.
Part of me found this comical, and part of me felt somewhat sorry for the pursued. On the other hand with as quickly as he fled he obviously knew he was guilty of something.
Found the police report:
