GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Law enforcement in Walker and Ottawa County say what started as a stolen motorcycle investigation lead to a multi-county crime spree that involved the suspect swimming in the Grand River and stealing a U-Haul truck to evade police.
The incident began around 1:20 p.m. when Walker Police detectives confronted a man about a stolen motorcycle case in the 900 block of Cedar Run.
A small struggle ensued, and law enforcement fired shots at him, police said. They also said the man was armed, but could not say if he used that weapon during the struggle.
The suspect then took off in a car through the Standale area. He abandoned his car at Johnson Park in the Wilson and Butterworth area.
Police said the suspect crossed into Ottawa County on foot, where he then swam in the Grand River in an effort to evade police.
The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and Michigan State Police got involved at that point to help locate the suspect and to set up a perimeter.
The suspect found some people loading up a U-Haul truck, stole the vehicle, and then lead law enforcement on a chase through a Georgetown Township neighborhood in the area of Baldwin Street and 12th Avenue.
"Items were spilling out the back of the U-Haul. He was ramming deputies' (vehicles), rammed several vehicles and road signs, also on Baldwin Street in the area here," Captain Jake Sparks with the sheriff's office said.
During this time, Jenison Public Schools were alerted about the chase by local police. Out of an abundance of caution, the school says they implemented a shelter-in-place protocol. The school says the shelter-in-place lasted from 2:35 to 2:45 p.m.
Law enforcement said the suspect drove recklessly and erratically through yards in the neighborhood, striking cars and ramming police vehicles.
The pursuit ended, and first responders rushed the suspect to a local hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.
Two officers were sent to the hospital due to injuries sustained in the chase. Their injuries are said to be minor.
"It sounded like someone describing Grand Theft Auto, the video game, to me in the way he jumped from one car to the other and swam across the river and then stole another car and was ramming into cop cars. It was just so surreal," Michael Kreis, who lives in the neighborhood, said.
He and his wife took a video that captures the U-Haul truck racing past their home. Right before, you can hear a collision and gunshots in the video.
"You didn't really have much time to think you just wanted to get out of the way," Kreis said. "We ducked in the house, and then you know, stuck our heads out and he went flying by and then the cops went flying by and then we saw a SWAT truck. It was insane. It was crazy."
The incident remains under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff's Office or Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT (745368) or mosotips.com
Police take armed suspect into custody in Georgetown Twp.
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