we got chased

Conducting surveillance in a small town is more challenging than conducting surveillance in the big city. We were recently working a case for eight weeks on and off. We had our investigators in an Airbnb on a farm surrounded by cows. Literally when we would wake up in the morning the cows were surrounding the house and our cars. After several weeks of being undetected by the subject, we not only got detected but one of the investigators was chased by the subject for 30 plus minutes. The subject was not home all night and she was gone in her stepfather's vehicle. She arrived back at the property sometime between 1 AM and 7 AM. At around 9 AM she decided to go to Kroger. She drove very fast to Kroger on a two-lane road with no shoulder. We decided in order to remain undetected we would give the subject some breathing room, our investigators went back to the residence to wait for her to return. The second investigator told us that the subject was on her way home. The lead investigator drove by her residence, he observed the subject and her stepfather getting groceries out of the car. The second investigator in another vehicle drove by a few minutes later. In the meantime, the lead investigator eventually made a U-turn then drove past the residence a second time. At this point, in the dashboard camera video, the subject is captured leaving her driveway to follow the investigator. The investigator was unaware that he was being followed. He went into the small town nearby to park his vehicle in a public parking spot. Just moments after backing into the investigator’s surveillance spot, the subject’s married boyfriend pulled in front of the surveillance vehicle then stopped momentarily. As soon as married boyfriend pulled away, the subject pulled her vehicle directly in front of the surveillance vehicle. The subject then exited her vehicle, then begin walking up to the driver side door of the surveillance vehicle. The investigator immediately put his vehicle in drive and gently drove around the subject as she threw her hands up in the air as if to say “what is going on?” The investigator called me on the phone. We called the surveillance over. We instructed the second investigator to stop surveillance. The second investigator was able to get to the lead investigator’s location pretty quickly. The second investigator was three cars behind the lead investigator when the subject came flying by, passing the second investigator at a high rate of speed. The subject was trying to get to the lead investigator’s vehicle. The subject did pass several vehicles to get right behind the lead investigator. The lead investigator made a U-turn then another U-turn and was able to get away from the subject momentarily. It was at that time that the lead investigator noticed that the stepfather had joined the chase with his truck. So now we had the subject and her stepfather chasing our lead investigator.

The lead investigator got onto I 65 northbound. The stepfather was directly behind the lead investigator in his pickup truck. Right behind the stepfather was the subject. The lead investigator got in the right lane to let these two people pass. Instead of passing the stepfather got in front of the lead investigator's vehicle then the subject got behind the lead investigators vehicle. The lead investigator attempted to take the next exit as he was pinned in the right lane. Things were getting too dangerous. The lead investigator pretended to take the exit because the pickup truck did exit and so lead investigator jump back on I 65 Northbound. The stepfather was out of the chase at this point.

I called the Tennessee State troopers in requested help. The State trooper dispatcher guided us telling us to run a certain speed and then slow down and run another speed. About 10 miles of travel after our initial call the State troopers were able to get behind the subject’s vehicle. Everyone pulled over at a truck stop as instructed. The state troopers invited the second private investigator and the stepfather to join the investigation going on at the truck stop. After the police interviewed everyone, they told lead investigator that the subject was going to be given a citation for offending while driving. The State troopers escorted to both private investigators back onto I 65 Northbound. If I were the subject, I would be worried about how this is going to look to the judge.

Here are some tips if someone is chasing you. Obey traffic laws. Think about where you're going, it's best to call 911 immediately and give your location. Decide where you're going and drive straight there do not pull over, do not stop. If you can stay in front of the person chasing you it might be best but every situation is different. Keep plenty of gas in your car when you're on surveillance.