A Coleraine police officer chased a truck for about 1.5 miles through Grand Rapids on Oct. 30 with red and blue lights, siren, air horn and high beams going while the driver held to the 40 mph speed limit, slowed for one red light and stopped at another, according to a complaint.
It began at about 6:59 p.m. when the officer, driving on U.S. Highway 169, saw a truck ahead whose taillights were not on or not emitting light. He activated his emergency lights to stop it. The driver kept going at about 40 mph. The officer added the siren and told dispatch the truck was not stopping.
At the second red light the driver stopped, but the officer saw no sign the truck had been put in park. When the light turned green the driver moved on. The officer switched the siren’s tones and sounded the air horn and high beams. He saw the driver look toward the squad in the rear-view mirror, look away and look back, the complaint says.
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As the truck reached the turn lane for U.S. Highway 2, Grand Rapids police and Itasca County sheriff’s squads arrived and positioned themselves in front of it. Only then did the driver stop, the complaint says. Officers ordered him out and handcuffed him. He was arrested at 7:02 p.m.
Without being asked any questions, Rahul Kumar, 56, said he did not understand he was being pulled over, according to the complaint. When the officer told him he had seen him look in the mirror, Kumar said he did not know the lights were meant for him to pull over. At one point he said he moved into the turn lane to give the officer a clear path to pass him.
Kumar is charged in Itasca County District Court in a complaint filed Nov. 2 with one felony count of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, which carries a maximum of three years and one day in prison or a $5,000 fine or both. The complaint does not list bail or a next court date.
