Wild ride, with no plan
Television network news programs this week picked up on a bizarre incident in Beaver County on Jan. 14. They showed video taken from a police cruiser stolen by a shoplifting suspect.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, after allegedly stealing items from a Monaca department store, the woman, pursued by police, sped off in a car with her mother and grandfather and was eventually pulled over by police. She was placed in the back seat of a police cruiser, her hands cuffed behind her back. While police interviewed her relatives, she managed to crawl through the window into the front seat, engage the lights and siren, ram her grandfather’s car, plow it out of the way and speed along Route 18 at speeds approaching 100 mph, all while handcuffed. After about 10 miles, she abandoned the car in Aliquippa and was again captured by police. We trust they took extra precautions at that point.
The woman, Rozanne Rimer, 27, had active warrants for her arrest, and police found needles on her. Though Rimer showed great ingenuity and dexterity in her attempt to escape, she was sadly lacking in foresight. What could have been her plan?
It seems police chasing down suspects has become almost a daily occurrence. What could these people be thinking? The chance of escaping the cops is very slim, and the additional charges that will inevitably be piled on ensure jail time, even when the original offense might be minor.
Finding an explanation for this behavior is not as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. In this case, and in too many others, the needles are everywhere.