November 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
Law enforcement pursuits especially from outside the county often find their way through Smithville and that has become a concern of Police Chief Mark Collins.
In July, after a man led Warren County authorities on a pursuit into DeKalb County on McMinnville Highway before being forced off the road at the edge of the Smithville City limits, Chief Collins decided it was time to act in the interest of public safety so he requested and got authorization from the city to purchase Stop Sticks for the department. Now each city patrol car has them.
A Stop Stick is a tire deflation strip for high speed pursuits.
“Now if we hear of a pursuit that is coming in we are going to try to get them stopped with these Stop Sticks before they get inside the city limits. This is where everybody is. The more people the more danger and the greater risk you have of getting somebody hurt,” said Chief Collins.
Last month, Smithville Police officers got a chance to use their new Stop Sticks for the first time. It occurred during another Warren County pursuit into DeKalb County and ironically involved the same man, 54 year old Marty Tallent, who led Smithville Police on a pursuit in August 2019 that ended at Silver Point with two wrecked city patrol cars but fortunately no injuries.
“On October 13 Warren County deputies were coming into our city during a pursuit and when they got close two of our officers deployed stop sticks right outside the city on McMinnville Highway and got him (Tallent) stopped without incident,” said Chief Collins.
“I believe Stop Sticks are a valuable tool. It’s a way to safely stop a vehicle. It keeps others from getting hurt and patrol cars and possibly other automobiles from being wrecked,” said Chief Collins.