BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A stolen car slammed into a Baltimore police patrol vehicle during a chase in West Baltimore around 1 a.m. on April Fool’s Day, then crashed again at a dead end as officers tried to stop it.
Audio from the scene captured an officer describing the initial impact: “That vehicle did sideswipe the front of my vehicle when I saw it.”
Police said the stolen car didn’t get far before ending at a dead end and hitting the patrol vehicle again. One suspect got away, with an officer reporting, “The passenger ran on foot going northbound on Ashburton.”
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Police arrested the driver, identified as a 14-year-old girl.
A resident who said she lives on the street where the chase began questioned why a teenager was out at that hour. “Well, first of all, what is a 14-year-old or any teenager out that time of morning?” she said.
The resident, identified as Ms. Sharon, said teens involved in crimes often believe they can get away with it. “They think that because they’re doing it, they probably say ‘oh I’m going to be out tonight’,” she said.
Police described the 14-year-old’s arrest history as “lengthy,” and said it includes stolen auto, robbery and aggravated assault.
The incident comes after police released body camera footage from February showing an officer firing shots at a stolen car. Three 14-year-olds were arrested in that case, including a 14-year-old girl. Police said two of those 14-year-olds were already on ankle monitors.
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Ms. Sharon said she believes the juvenile justice system is failing to deter repeat offenders. “They think everything is fun, so that’s what it is, and they know they’re just going to get a slap on the wrist, they’re going to out to their parents even if they have a monitor, they don’t care,” she said.
“And juvenile justice, it’s a big joke,” she added.
She urged people to take the violence seriously, saying, “I mean, people really need to take what’s going out here seriously because it doesn’t make any kind of sense. And Baltimore is a nice place to live. It’s the people in it that’s messing it up.”
Ms. Sharon said she wants tougher penalties for juveniles accused of serious crimes, “It needs to be tougher laws for them,” she said. “So that’s why they’re doin’ what they are doing. So they should be charged as a adult. I don’t care, they know what their doin.”
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