Logan patrolman breaks into song while chasing vehicle to Columbus

LOGAN — In the midst of chasing a vehicle clear to the outskirts of Columbus on Sunday, a Logan police officer revisited a George Strait country classic, endearing those who were watching the chase in real-time.

"All my exes live in Texas," Jason Gadrim crooned about 13 minutes after he began to chase a white Ford Mustang on Route 33 for apparent speeding.

"And Texas is a place I'd dearly love to be," he continued. "But all my exes live in Texas. And that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee."

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Gadrim's singing voice and half-hour chase was captured on Facebook Live.

The patrolman is one of two officers in the Hocking County community about 50 miles southeast of Columbus who regularly stream their patrols live on Facebook, according to the Facebook page "Policing for Our Community."

It's part of an effort to promote transparency and bring people into the world of policing, according to the department.

Gadrim did just that when he broke into song, all the while reaching high speeds.

"Leave it to Jason to sing during a pursuit. Lol," one person commented on a Facebook Live video that as of Monday morning had been viewed more than 32,000 times.

"He sings to keep himself calm," said another.

How did the singing police chase start?

Before the chase began, Gadrim pulled over the Mustang along Chieftain Drive just past Logan's Kroger grocery store.

"We got us a ten over," the officer can be heard in the video saying. "That's not nothing. But we might as well go say hi, it's a wonderful day."

The Facebook Live video shows a woman exiting the Mustang, and Gadrim tells her to get back inside using his loudspeaker.

"Are you going to go back to the car? Or are you going to stand there and stare at me? Go back to the car!"

The woman obeys Gadrim and walks back to the car, the video shows. But as she opens the passenger door, the driver hits the gas and leaves the woman behind.

Gadrim followed the driver, whose identity was redacted on a police report, and at one point pulled his firearm when their vehicles came nose to nose.

"Officer Gadrim pulled his sidearm out and pointed it at the subject in case the subject were to pull a weapon on him," the report reads.

The driver was able to maneuver the Mustang around Gadrim's cruiser and eventually merged onto Route 33 westbound, according to the report.

The report says the driver reached speeds  of 130 miles per hour, dodged stop sticks that had been placed on the highway by the Patrol and continued to drive even after sideswiping a vehicle.

The chase up Route 33 lasted for about 30 minutes, ending when Gadrim let the Mustang go as it merged onto I-270 north.

Gadrim, who began his shift that morning by listening and singing along to the folk band Haunted Windchimes, can be seen in the Facebook video turning his cruiser around.

He turns the stereo up and the Windchimes' "Out With the Crow" starts to play and begins to head back to Logan.

Pursuit policies vary 

Most of those who tuned in to watch the chase were supportive of Gadrim's decision to follow a speeding suspect 40 or so miles outside of town.

"Great job, Jason," multiple people wrote online.

But a high-speed chase that involved weaving through traffic begs the question: What is the Logan police department's policy on pursuits?

In Logan, officers are authorized to initiate a pursuit "when it is reasonable to believe that a suspect is attempting to evade arrest or detention by fleeing in a vehicle that has been given a signal to stop by a peace officer," the policy reads.

In deciding whether to initiate a pursuit, officers in Logan must consider the seriousness of the known or suspected crime; the "apparent nature" of the fleeing suspect; safety of the public; whether the suspect's identity is known; if other persons are inside the vehicle being pursued, such as a co-offender or hostage, and other similar factors.

Police departments in Ohio are required by law to have pursuit policies, but no state or federal regulations dictate what must be in such policies.

Columbus police are only allowed to chase a vehicle if they believe an occupant in that vehicle has threatened or inflicted serious physical harm to another person, an occupant has used or threatened to use a deadly weapon, an occupant has an active felony warrant for a violent offense, or if the vehicle contains evidence relating to a violent crime. If a driver's actions pose a threat to public safety, a pursuit can also occur.

An investigation into the chase is pending, a dispatcher with the Logan police department said.

Monroe Trombly covers breaking and trending news.

mtrombly@dispatch.com

@MonroeTrombly

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Logan patrolman starts singing while chasing vehicle to Columbus