MOBILE, Ala. — A midnight pursuit that ended in a ditch near Maitre Park marked the fourth high-speed chase in the Mobile area in just one week, and it put a 27-year-old man behind bars on drug and eluding charges.
Police say officers attempted to stop Devon Partain near Broad and Government streets shortly after midnight when he sped off. The chase came to an end when Partain struck a ditch near Maitre Park and took off on foot, according to police. Officers did not have to search for long — he was arrested a short time later.
A stack of charges
Partain now faces charges of attempting to elude and possession with intent to distribute. Jail records show he was also booked on multiple outstanding warrants, including driving on a revoked license and drug possession.
Two more chases in the county
Partain’s arrest came just days after the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office dealt with two separate pursuits on the same day. Investigators say 29-year-old Dramico Bailey Jr. had been moving large amounts of drugs into Mobile from South Florida, and undercover investigators spotted him meeting one of his distributors, 28-year-old Kashunte Tate, in a Semmes parking lot.
Deputies say Tate fled in a Honda Accord, reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour before deputies ended that chase with a PIT maneuver on Moffett Road. A separate attempt to arrest Bailey sparked a second pursuit, during which deputies say he rammed multiple patrol cars before the chase ended on Airport Boulevard.
Deputies later seized five pounds of suspected methamphetamine, 10 guns and additional evidence, according to the sheriff’s office. Bailey and Tate now face felony charges.
Tiffany Vassel, a mother whose dashcam caught part of the chaos, said everything happened in an instant.
“Had they hit me, what would’ve happened to my baby?” Vassel said.
Earlier chase down Springhill Avenue
Last week, Mobile police say a young man led officers on a chase down Springhill Avenue that a witness captured on camera. Investigators said no officers were hurt in that incident, and the juvenile was detained at the scene.
When do chases end?
The string of pursuits has renewed attention on when — and how — area agencies decide to chase. Under Mobile police policies and procedures, officers must weigh the need for a pursuit against the danger a chase could create for everyone else on the road. The policy says that calculation includes speed, road and weather conditions, and the safety of innocent bystanders.
MPD says officers and supervisors should communicate continually during a pursuit, and if the danger becomes too great, the pursuit should be ended.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office declined to detail its own pursuit rules, but a spokesperson said the agency reviews pursuits in accordance with agency policy.
“The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office reviews pursuits in accordance with agency policy, and we remain committed to balancing the apprehension of dangerous or wanted individuals with the safety of our deputies and the community,” the spokesperson said.
A divided public
Reaction on social media has been split. One commenter argued that police should stop chasing people because someone is going to get hurt, while another countered that those running from the law should stop rather than endanger the public.
Safety experts generally agree the calculus is difficult: pursuits are sometimes necessary to take dangerous suspects off the street, but every second of a chase puts drivers, pedestrians and neighborhoods at risk. With four pursuits in seven days across the Mobile area, both agencies say the balance between apprehension and public safety remains at the center of every decision to pursue.