911: Michigan Dispatcher Gets Fleeing Man To Stop
HOLLAND (AP) - A 911 recording shows how a western Michigan emergency dispatcher was able to calmly persuade an agitated man to pull over and end police's high-speed pursuit of him.
Six police cars chased Luis Bonilla-Machado through Holland and into Allegan County on Feb. 28.
But after an 8-minute chat with Allegan Central dispatcher Tammy Gane, the 25-year-old Holland resident agreed to slow down and eventually surrender.
Holland police Capt. Jack Dykstra credits Gane's "calm voice and reason" for peacefully ending what could have been a disastrous end to the chase, which reached speeds of 80 miles per hour.
The Associated Press obtained the 911 call via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Bonilla-Machado pleaded to fleeing and eluding and cocaine possession and faces jail time when he's sentenced on April 30.
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