A woman was arrested Wednesday in Kentucky after she allegedly led cops on a chase, but as seen on video, the incident ended with a surprise hug. Hodgenville Police Chief James Richardson said the scared driver embraced him.
In body cam footage released by the department, the point-of-view officer stepped out of the patrol vehicle, and approached a stationary black sedan with a firearm drawn. A bearded, bespectacled officer with a cap–Richardson–closed in on the driver’s side door with his gun drawn. He told her to unlock the door. When she did, he holstered his weapon, and told her she was okay. As seen on the video, the chief and the distraught driver hugged. He attempted to console her, asking her name and asking her to get out of the car.
In a statement, Richardson said this had never before happened to him after a chase. From the department:
A great example of keeping your emotions in check at the end of a pursuit. Chief Richardson said, “the look on her face was of sheer terror. She was shaking and it was obvious she was scared. I talked to her to calm her down and then she hugged me. That has never happened to me after a pursuit.”
Police said that the vehicle had been fleeing from law enforcement in a neighboring county when Hodgenville police got involved. Authorities stopped the driver, identified as 41-year-old Latrece Curry, by using what they described as a rolling roadblock tactic. No injuries were reported.
Cops said the chase covered two counties, according to the New York Post. Curry had allegedly left home after a domestic dispute with her husband. She fled when a deputy found her.
Now she is charged with fleeing police, endangerment, and traffic violations. It is unclear if she has an attorney in this matter.
“Her statement to me was she was just in the zone, she didn’t know what she was doing and she was extremely sorry,” Richardson told the New York Post. “She had no criminal record to speak of, had never been in trouble that I know of. She just made a really bad choice.”
[Screengrab via Hodgenville Police Department]
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