Police Pursuit Gets a Five-Star Uber Upgrade

Two police officers reportedly found themselves being outrun by a fleeing suspect, so they upgraded the pursuit from foot patrol to Uber.

The officers had been chasing the suspect on foot but were apparently too slow to catch up. Faced with the traditional law-enforcement problem of a criminal moving faster than the people pursuing them, they chose a distinctly modern solution: they jumped into an Uber and told the driver to join the chase.

That left an ordinary ride-hailing driver unexpectedly drafted into police work, with two officers in the car and a fleeing suspect somewhere ahead. A journey that presumably began as another fare had become a pursuit, without the usual administrative delay of applying for a job in law enforcement.

The reported episode contains all the essential ingredients of a police chase — officers, a suspect and a vehicle — but arranged in an unusual order. Rather than calling for a patrol car, the officers appear to have borrowed the transport already available and asked its driver to help close the gap.

No details were provided about where or when the chase happened, how far the Uber followed the suspect, or whether the driver had any opportunity to consider the request before becoming part of the operation. It is also unclear whether the suspect was ultimately caught.

There was no mention of how the trip was entered into the app, what destination was selected, or whether the pursuit affected the fare. Surge pricing, in particular, was not mentioned. Nor was it reported whether the driver received a rating for speed, route choice or cooperation with the authorities.

The outcome for the two officers, the driver and the fleeing suspect remains unknown. There is also no information about whether any further police action will follow.

What is known is that, when the officers could not catch their suspect on foot, they did not simply watch the distance grow. They found an Uber, got in and instructed the driver to continue the chase — turning a ride-hailing service into an improvised police vehicle, at least for as long as the pursuit lasted.