Halifax Police Cruiser Stolen In Wild Chase

HANSON (CBS) -- A wild police chase in the middle of the night on the South Shore ended with officers using bean bags to shoot out the windows of a Halifax cruiser.

Investigators said 36-year-old Daniel Egan of Plymouth started all of the chaos in his Chevy Malibu when a Hanson officer saw him speed through a stop sign at Indian Head and Liberty Streets around 1 a.m.  He then allegedly turned off his lights when police went after him.

"(He) tried to run one of the Hanson cruisers off the road. That cruiser sustained minor damage," said Hanson Police Chief Michael Miksch.

Officers used stop sticks to blow out the tires of the Chevy, but when police tried to arrest him, Egan managed to escape.

"(He) got into a marked cruiser he then fled in the marked cruiser," Miksch said.

Police from Hanson, Halifax, Pembroke, Plympton, Whitman, Carver, and Hanover were all involved in the chase, along with the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department. They were able to stop the stolen cruiser with stop sticks.

"To be able to use two sets of stop sticks on two different vehicles in one pursuit successfully is pretty amazing," Miksch said.

Even with nowhere to go, police say Egan refused to cooperate, staying put inside the cruiser.

That's when officers broke the windows.

"(He) did not give up right away and we had to use a police K9 to capture him," the chief said.

Egan was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth because the dog bit his hand. They're still trying to figure out why he took off in the first place.

Hanson Police praised all the officers involved, saying they showed restraint during the chase and standoff.

Egan is now facing charges of assault and battery, larceny of a motor vehicle, operating to endanger, failure to stop for a police officer, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, and several more motor vehicle violations.

Family members say Egan has a history of mental health issues and was just recently released from a mental health facility.

He is being held on $25,000 bail and was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation on Friday.