LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – In order to make sure Lubbock roads are safe, it sometimes takes a little bit of partnership.
The Texas DPS Aircraft Operations Division can help in many ways, but as lieutenant pilot Lee Tarter explains, a collaboration with the Lubbock Police Department is a little different.
“We’re assisting law enforcement with criminal activities,” Tarter said. “It’s anywhere from pursuits to bail outs with a foot pursuit to burglaries and robberies in the city.”
On Sunday, the two agencies took part in a proactive operation targeting reckless drivers. From 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., LPD crews on the ground and DPS crews in the sky kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Grant Savage with the Lubbock Police Department said around 8:15 p.m., officers found something that raised alarms.
“A DPS trooper saw two motorcycles traveling westbound on the South Loop from about University and they relayed that to the aircraft,” Savage said. “The aircraft then got eyes on the motorcycles and observed them traveling 110, 120 miles per hour, lane splitting, weaving in and out of traffic.”
In locating these two suspects, Tarter says having the helicopter fly high provides a greater safety net for officers and residents.
“The helicopter affords the ground units to be able to back off from any pursuits,” Tarter said. “It’s dangerous in the city for any police officer to be traveling at a high rate of speed, much less in a pursuit.”
The aircraft crew was later able to provide location updates to officers for those individuals fleeing law enforcement, and know what they’re looking for.
“All of our pilots and tactical flight officers in the aircraft are state troopers on the roads prior to becoming a pilot or a tactical flight officer in the air,” Tarter said, “so we have that police background as well.”
23-year-old Dominic Martinez was arrested that night for evading arrest with vehicle, racing on highway and criminal trespassing, while 20-year-old Joshua Schreiber was later located and arrested the next day for evading arrest with vehicle.
Law enforcement wants the public to know they’re not spying on anyone, and these types of operations are crucial in protecting the residents of Lubbock on the road.
“If we allow that to continue, it’s just going to eventually snowball to where the public’s going to be in danger.”
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