Indiana Man Arrested After High-Speed Chase in Stolen Police Cruiser

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Indiana State Police apprehended a suspect involved in the theft of a Scottsburg City Police cruiser, leading to a high-speed pursuit across southern Indiana. The sequence of events began around 1:30 a.m. when Scottsburg City Police Department officers, attending to an unrelated call at the I-65 Studio Suites Hotel, were alerted to the theft of a marked police vehicle from the hotel's parking lot.

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The stolen cruiser, soon spotted heading southbound on I-65, ignited a pursuit as the driver, refusing to yield, pushed the vehicle to perilous speeds, at times exceeding 100 mph and nearing 140 mph. The chase drew in officers from the Scott County and Clark County Sheriff’s Departments, alongside troopers from the Sellersburg Post of the Indiana State Police.

Efforts to halt the fleeing vehicle included the deployment of Stop Stick tire deflation devices, which, despite inflicting damage, failed to immediately stop the stolen cruiser. The chase reached a dramatic conclusion near the 3-mile marker on I-65 when the driver, attempting to evade a precision immobilization technique maneuver by Master Trooper Rob Caudill, lost control and collided with a concrete median barrier.

The driver, identified as 44-year-old Roger W. Stamper of Austin, Indiana, was eventually subdued with a taser and taken into custody after he emerged from the passenger side and defied officers' commands. Following medical clearance, Stamper was booked into the Scott County Jail, facing numerous charges including vehicle theft, resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, and reckless driving, among others.

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