OnStar helped Cleveland police track down and arrest a group of thieves after they stole a second-generation Buick LaCrosse equipped with the technology.
According to Cleveland ABC affiliate News 5, police spotted a 2015 Buick LaCrosse that had been reported stolen parked at a gas station in the city’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood. As the car started leaving the gas station, police got in contact with OnStar, which enabled its Stolen Vehicle Assistance mode on the car, immobilizing it and allowing police to close in and arrest the suspects.
Video of the incident released by News 5 shows police approaching the vehicle from behind with their guns drawn. News 5 journalist Mike Vielhaber also posted a tweet from the scene, which said Cleveland police walked along the side of the road as the immobilized car rolled slowly backward toward them before apprehending the occupants.
CPD D2 with the help of OnStar were able to arrest 4 or 5 in a stolen car on I-90 west near Fulton overnight. CPD actually walked along the highway behind the car as it rolled very slowly with the suspects holding their hands out the window. They all looked to be very young. pic.twitter.com/BomHQoPEV7
— Mike Vielhaber (@MVielhaber) January 29, 2020
A separate report from Cleveland.com says police arrested six suspects in total: three 15-year-old boys, a 14-year-old boy, a 13-year-old boy and a sixth boy whose age was not included in the police report. They were all taken to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center, but were later released and taken home after the detention center turned them away.
The 2015 Buick LaCrosse was stolen earlier in the night from a separate gas station in Cleveland’s Brookside neighborhood. When the man who it was stolen from came to recover the vehicle, he told police it had fresh crash damage that was not there when it was stolen from him. Police believe the suspects may be connected to a crash involving another stolen vehicle that happened earlier in the night.
This isn’t the first time Cleveland police have tapped OnStar to help them slow down a stolen vehicle. Last year they used the technology to immobilize a car that had been stolen in a carjacking and it also helped them recover two other stolen vehicles in 2017.
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Source: News 5, Cleveland.com
Comment
Fantastic feature. Part of the reason I prefer GM vehicles is for the Onstar and the safety/protection it gives. Having been a police officer, I know first hand the value of Onstar and other telematics like it. In a case like this, it’s much safer than a pursuit, although not nearly as exciting.