'Buckle Up, Here We Go': Adams County Sheriff Talks About Live Streaming Chase Of Stolen Car
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) -- Earlier this month, the Adams County Sheriff started a live stream on Facebook that he does every Saturday night from his patrol car -- to show what deputies do and connect with residents of the county. But this past Saturday, his regular group of followers was in for an unexpected wild ride.
"There's even a little Facebook group that kind of follows us and they've named themselves 'Rick's Road Runners,'" said Sheriff Rick Reigenborn.
The sheriff said at first, hundreds of viewers would tune in for the virtual ride-along. Now that number is up in the thousands.
"I have a little fun with them," he told CBS4's Kelly Werthmann. "I'm like, 'Hey, jump in the back seat because here we go. Grab your Pepsi, grab your popcorn and let's get ready.'"
Viewers needed extra popcorn this last Saturday night. Sheriff Reigenborn just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, during his live stream -- when the driver of a stolen vehicle hit a patrol car.
"When [suspects] intentionally start ramming our cars, that's a person we need to get off the streets. We have a responsibility to our community to chase and try to apprehend those folks, as long as we can do it safely," he explained. "So, I tell the 'back seaters' to 'buckle up, here we go. Let's see if we can give them a hand.'"
As the sheriff followed the pursuit from Adams County into Denver, he explained to the "digital deputies" what was happening.
"He's driving into oncoming traffic," Sheriff Reigenborn said during the live stream. You can watch it all unfold in Reigenborn's Facebook posting.
And just when the suspect thought he'd gotten away, it was the sheriff who turned into the neighborhood where the alleged car thief took off running.
Sheriff Reigenborn jumped out and chased down the suspect. His phone that was streaming the pursuit stayed in his car, so viewers did not see the foot chase and take down, but when Reigenborn came back to his vehicle he told the streaming audience what happened.
"I actually caught the guy," he said.
He told CBS4 he chased the suspect down an icy sidewalk and both slipped -- but the sheriff didn't fall.
"He's like, 'You got me', and I was like, 'Did you think this old man was just going to give up?'" the sheriff said.
"It was fun, and it was fun to know that I caught a guy that's younger than me. When we make an arrest like this, yeah, we're excited. This is what law enforcement works for. We like making good arrests. We like taking bad people."
Yet it's not just fun and perhaps entertaining. The sheriff's streams are also about law enforcement transparency, Reigenborn said.
"I'm not taking you into crime scenes, I'm stopping prior to that," he explained. "It's really just a way to be a little more transparent, come see what we're doing, see the call loads that we're handling."
The sheriff also had a response to anyone who thinks his livestreams are a waste of time and taxpayer money.
"Well, this Saturday night I wasted your tax dollars by arresting an auto theft suspect. I wasted your tax dollars by making a DUI arrest that I found on my own. I wasted your tax dollars by going to a shooting at another location. If that's a waste, I'm good wasting your money," Reigenborn said. "I'm good with it because that's what's going to make your neighborhood safe."
There were three police pursuits in Adams County over the weekend. In fact, the sheriff said there are pursuits in the county almost daily. He can't promise that's what viewers will see every Saturday during his livestream, but he is hopeful more people will tune in to take part.
"My plan is to do it every Saturday at 9 p.m.," he said. "And I'm not like a news company, sometimes I'm on early or a little late."
Leonard Allen, 32, was arrested in the case and charged with felony eluding and driving while his license is under restraint. Leonard's criminal record includes three different sentences sending him to state prison for forgery, trespassing, and auto theft, according to online records.
