‘Only in Lemay’: Super-Slow St. Louis Police Chase Crawls for Miles [VIDEO]

One cop even waved as they slowly cruised past in less-than-hot pursuit

Jan 3, 2024 at 4:14 pm

Chris Goetz captured this photo of a slow-speed chase passing through Lemay on January 3, 2024. Courtesy Chris Goetz

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Multiple St. Louis area police agencies engaged in an incredibly chill chase early this afternoon, with both pursuers and pursued traveling at speeds somewhere between OJ Simpson’s white Bronco and a sloth.

It's unclear where this pokey pursuit began, but it passed through Lemay in south county and ended in south city not far from Hampton and Chippewa.

The chase presumably began at speeds more typical of those fleeing law enforcement, but police say that things down-shifted when they used spike strips on the Kia Optima they had been pursuing. Undeterred, the 30-year-old behind the wheel kept going.

Chris Goetz, manager of Phil's Tire Shop on South Broadway in Lemay, says that a little before 1 p.m. today he heard the sirens and stepped outside to see the slow-moving police vehicles.

"I thought it was a funeral procession," he tells the RFT.

Video captured by Goetz shows the Optima crawling along South Broadway, all of its tires deflated, being both led and followed by city and county cop cars. "Only in Lemay!" someone shouts as an officer waves from the open window of his car.

click to enlarge

Screen grab of video taken by Chris Goetz.

Courtesy Chris Goetz

This screenshot, from a video taken by Chris Goetz, shows an officer waving as he continues his slow pursuit.

Goetz says that after the chase very slowly passed his business, the Optima led police on a loop and swung back for a second pass.

Just to heighten the similarities to the infamously slow police chase involving Simpson in his buddy’s white Bronco, a helicopter was deployed for some reason before the chase finally came to an end about six miles from Phil's, near Chippewa and January in south city, according to police.

"You could have walked up right next to them, honestly," says Goetz. "I don't know why they kept it going for as long as they did." But in a city where police chases have all too frequently led to death, it’s hard to argue with what happened here.

Police say that the 30-year-old driver has been taken into custody. It is not clear what charges he faces at this time.

See Goetz's video below: