High Speed Chase on Sheffield's Hatch Boulevard

Some Sheffield parents picking up their children from school on Wednesday afternoon were met with more than the usual traffic jam. According to sources in the area, five or six Sheffield Police cruisers were involved in a high speed chase on Hatch Boulevard shortly after three o'clock.

For those unfamiliar with the area, Hatch Boulevard is a highly patrolled residential street extending from downtown Sheffield to what is commonly called the TVA intersection. Speed limits on Hatch are 35 and 25 mph.

Witnesses to the chase reported the car being pursued was traveling at such a high rate of speed as to make it unidentifiable. There were also conflicting reports as to the number of cars in pursuit, but five or six was the most reported number.

Were Sheffield Police chasing a dangerous criminal? Was the miscreant apprehended? We the general public may never know since the police have stonewalled on the subject. We the public can and should object to these sort of chases for petty crimes.

Why? After all, the police are chasing criminals, aren't they? Yes, but in doing so they are endangering the lives of innocent citizens. Hatch Boulevard is a two-lane thoroughfare leading to various residential communities and often congested during morning and evening drive time. The police contend such chases deter crime. Most chases are initiated by speeders or other petty criminals whose identity the authorities already know (that's what license plates are for). It hasn't been that long ago that a Lauderdale deputy killed an innocent teenage girl in an attempt to pass her car while en route to a domestic dispute in Lexington. No one was hurt in the dispute, but the young woman left grieving parents and an unfulfilled future.

Now is the time to write or call the Sheffield Police Department and complain about this cowboy behavior that is all too common among today's law enforcement. You may just save a life.


What's up with this: What new area Doc-In-A-Box clinic may soon be closing due to lack of customers? It must not be better than Botox.