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Menlo Park police track stolen car without high-speed chase
Menlo Park police arrested three teens after using a StarChase GPS tracking device to follow a stolen vehicle without initiating a dangerous high-speed pursuit.
MENLO PARK, Calif. - Three teens are in custody after Menlo Park police used a high-tech GPS tracker to stop a stolen vehicle over the weekend, allowing officers to avoid a high-speed pursuit.
The incident began Saturday when officers spotted a stolen car. When police attempted a traffic stop, the driver sped off. Instead of launching a traditional chase, officers deployed a "StarChase" device—a high-tech GPS tracking mechanism.
The StarChase system launches a tracker that attaches to a fleeing vehicle using magnets and an adhesive. Once affixed, dispatchers and officers can track the car's location remotely, allowing police to back off the dangerous pursuit.
"Pursuits are dangerous," said Menlo Park Police Sgt. Allen Swanson. "So having other options besides either giving up and letting the guy go or chasing him until the wheels fall off... it's nice to have other tools that we can use for that."
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Arrest
What we know:
The GPS tracker led authorities out of San Mateo County and across the Bay into Berkeley.
Menlo Park police, along with local authorities, swarmed the vehicle and arrested the three occupants inside. Police revealed the suspects are incredibly young:
Two 15-year-olds
One 13-year-old
Inside the stolen vehicle, officers also recovered a replica Glock 19 handgun.
The teenage driver is now facing multiple charges, including felony reckless evading and possession of a stolen vehicle.
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Mixed track record in Bay Area
Dig deeper:
While Menlo Park police are praising the technology, its success across the Bay Area has been mixed.
Several local departments, including Fremont, Hayward, and most recently San Francisco, have adopted the StarChase system. However, the city of Oakland previously dropped the technology, citing a lack of use and success.
Privacy advocates have also questioned the efficacy of the tracking darts.
"One or two times where the dart actually did affix to the car, the driver or the passenger just hopped out, pulled the dart off the car, and just drove off," Brian Hofer, executive director of Secure Justice, told KTVU in a previous interview.
Menlo Park police acknowledge there are challenges, noting they currently have about a 60% success rate in getting the tracking darts to properly stick to fleeing cars. Still, they argue that when it works, it keeps the community safer.
"In this case, we were able to back off of the pursuit, make it safer for the public, safer for the officers, safer for the suspects," Sgt. Swanson said. "And then take them into custody in a better way later on."