Grand Prairie's Police Chief Arrests Two Burglary Suspects By Himself During Unplanned Patrol
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GRAND PRAIRIE (CBS11) - Police officers arrest criminals every day.
But it's not often when the suspects are handcuffed by the police chief.
That's what happened to Grand Prairie's police chief Steve Dye. "When I'm out there, I'm just a police officer like any other police officer."
Chief Dye became just another officer Wednesday morning.
He said he was between meetings, and decided instead of answering emails, he would patrol the neighborhood instead.
When Dye saw two people on a bicycle on El Paso Street acting suspiciously, he followed them in his unmarked SUV.
But when they went behind a house, the chief got out of his truck. "I did suspect they were breaking into the home and I didn't have a lot of time to wait on back-up. I told them where I was and whatI was doing. I got back there, and was able to get both of them at gunpoint and hold them until a few seconds later when my back-up officer arrived."
When asked if the suspects realized who was arresting them, Dye said, "I never told them, they never asked. I don't think they realized I was the chief."
Terral Green has lived on El Paso Street all his life and says he didn't realize the Chief made the arrests.
Green said, "I thought it was great that he thought enough to come down to the area and check out if this area is patrolled."
The chief said he selected the Dalworth neighborhood because it has a history of problems.
The department has spent money for technology that tracks where crimes have occurred and where they will likely happen.
Dye said, "We're not just driving around in our neighborhoods, we know where to go, where to be, and where to look, and that's a huge factor in these arrests."
Grand Prairie police say they've been effective at reducing crime in Dalworth and residents I spoke with said they've noticed the results.
Green said, "The fact that I roam around safely all the time at night, day and evening if I want to get something to eat, I feel very safe."
As for Dye, "I've been a police officer for 31 years, and catching bad guys is still fun."
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