Segway in the news
Traffic cop riding a Segway ran down a shooter in Chicago.
The Chicago Sun-Times
has the story:
Cop riding Segway runs down shooting suspect
Chicago Police Officer Thaddeus Martyka was riding his Segway Human Transporter looking for parking violations when he heard the shot ring out.
Martyka, traveling north on State Street on Sunday, saw two young men sprint west on 21st Street -- and the chase was on.
The Segway, a scooter that looks like an old-fashioned push lawn mower with big rubber wheels, hit its top speed of 12.5 mph.
One suspect broke away on Wabash, but Martyka kept tailing the other man until he tired out on the sidewalk.
Martyka set down the Segway and handcuffed the man about 4:27 p.m. at 23rd and State. He radioed fellow officers to pick up a .25-caliber pistol the man allegedly tossed in an alley during the chase.
It was the first arrest the 17-year veteran has made on a Segway. He has been riding the scooters since he arrived in the Central District about a month ago. Martyka also patrolled on them when he was assigned to O'Hare Airport.
"This is the first time I can recall that the officer used it to chase somebody down," Central District Cmdr. Kevin Ryan said.
Very cool -- normal untrained people can sprint faster than 12MPH for a short while but you cannot sustain that level of speed. Patiently, the dude on the Segway will catch you. You need to be able to do 15MPH to do a four-minute mile and look how many people can do that...
Posted by DaveH at September 3, 2007 2:00 PM