Family Questions Police Judgment After Dramatic Chase
Advertisement
Text size: small | medium | large
By Fred Cunningham
Anchor
Published: August 21, 2008
A Spartanburg man is behind bars Thursday morning after a wild chase that started in Lyman and one family is questioning whether or not the chase was necessary.
Robert Leon Foster, 21, faces a total of ten charges that includes reckless driving, forgery, and driving under suspension according to the jail website. He was scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge Thursday morning, but that has been moved to Friday.
The suspect was wanted on several forgery cases. Investigators say he sped past a Wellford officer at 90 miles per hour in a 35 m.p.h. zone. The officer tried to pull him over but the suspect kept going. Officers say they started following the suspected driver at the Food Lion on 300 Spartanburg Highway in Lyman. The pursuit ended at Arcadia and Foster Streets when the driver crashed. The chase lasted a total of six minutes.
News Channel 7 photographer Kris Sheehan recorded an officer yelling “Get down!“ as they took Foster into custody.
Foster was booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Center around 1:30am Thursday.
One local family witnessed the chase and wondered if the police made the right decision in pursuing a non-violent offender at such a high speed.
One woman was saying goodbye to her sister and four-year-old niece when she heard sirens on Church Street when she looked up she said a car flew past her and her family, followed by police cars.
She said only moments before her sister was standing in the street.
“I commend the police for doing their job and catching the criminals but I think they need to make better judgement calls when they do these types of pursuing,“ she said.
The officers involved issued the following statement:
“No its not a violent crime but I think we have a duty and responsibility to protect the lives of our citizens. Our officers did not violate policy they followed policy they did not do anything wrong.“
Foster faces a list of charges:
- Forgery
- Failure to stop for blue light 4th offense!
- Liquor law violation
- Driving under suspension 8th offense!
- Reckless driving
- habitual offender
- violation of NROC
Fosters bond hearing is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Friday.
The map below shows the route of the chase, based on information provided by the Wellford officer who first saw the suspect’s vehicle:
View Larger Map
Page 1 of 1
Post a Comment
The commenting period has ended or commenting has been deactivated for this article.
Can't find what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
Reader Reactions
Posted by ( tigrs4 ) on August 22, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Excuse me! You all need to wake up and smell the coffee and doughnuts if you would like to join the cops. I support Queen B who is my sister-in-law! Supposedly, I walked home as she said below, I could be killed myself by the cops AND Foster, too because I’m DEAF which means I can’t hear anything. How do I know what’s going with them? My hearing wife got me attentions to see what’s going on. Now, you all better shut up and watch out because you may be NEXT!! Thank you SO much!!
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( Alan ) on August 22, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Just a suggestion Queen B and to anyone one else that might be interested. Almost all Sheriffs Offices and Police Depts offer ride alongs to anyone over the age of 18. Before you write your next comment, take a night and ride with the people you are writing about. You may think you know what its like on the street, but until you actually go there…your views are just a bit one sided. It will be worth the eight hours you put into it.
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( Alan ) on August 22, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Queen B
Just one question…suppose this bad guy went through your neighborhood at ninety miles an hour on a regular basis. What would you do? I magine you would call the police to complain about this situation but if the police followed your earlier suggestion, they would tell you there is nothing they could do. If I had to guess, your next call would be to the media stating this problem and the police would not help you. I am very curious to know your suggestion. Getting a tag number from a car moving 90 mphs only happens in the movies…..so exactly how would you suggest that the police solve this problem? I think if you are honest with yourself….the police are in a no win situation and it was not them that caused that “circus”. It is easy to second guess from the confort of your livingroom, please give these guys a break that have to make these decesions in a split second.
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( firemanst13 ) on August 22, 2008 at 10:56 am
What is the web address to see his crimes?
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( SCkitty ) on August 22, 2008 at 9:16 am
I agree with “Alan”, who states that the “bad guy” was the one doing 90 mph when he passed the police officer. Everyone is wanting to find fault with our police force but they are doing their jobs! If they weren’t, then people would be complaining about that also and a lot more lives would be at stake! Even if the officer had Not been behind the “bad guy”, he was still doing 90 mph!!! Lives were in danger regardless of whether the police were involved or not! Get it through your thick skulls people…. the police are trying to prevent YOU from getting hurt or killed by morons who don’t care about YOU or anybody else! I’m sick and tired of hearing YOU complain about the police and how THEY are doing something “wrong”. You’re not the one who is out there putting your life on the line everyday of the week to save someone else’s behind from idiots like this guy! Give them a break will you! They are doing a very hard job with little pay to keep YOU safe! Want to blame someone? Blame the idiot who was driving at 90 mph in the first place… He was the danger to YOU and YOUR loved ones.
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( apollo ) on August 22, 2008 at 8:03 am
TO SEE PART OF MR. FOSTERS RECORD GO TO SPARTANBURG COUNTY WEB SITE AND LOOK ON THE PIS IN THE LOWER RITE CONER OF THE WEB SITE AND TYPE IN HIS NAME…. LONG LISE FOR MR. FOSTER
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( firemanst13 ) on August 22, 2008 at 7:55 am
OMG, you want the police to just say to themselfs oh he is just wanted for forgery, he is only driving 90 MPH in a 35 zone, we dont want to to chase him. What is wrong with you people? How was the police to know one, who is driving the car, 2 why the car is going so fast, 3 why is this person willing to put themselfs and others in this much danger by fleeing? What if it was just someone out joying riding but running 90 in a 35, they are not wanted for anything, should the police just look the other way?
No the police are not perfect, everyone makes mistakes, but I see no fault what so ever in this sisuation. Queen B, if it was you that this guy was forgering from, I bet you would be glad and thankful the police chased him! Also, how was the police to know that this person just didnt kill someone, or kid napped someone? We dont live in a perfect world so these things will happen, I am pretty sure if the police could have just thrown a switch and cut his car off they would have, they dont want to be involved in a high speed chases just like they dont want to be looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, but the men and women put there lives on the line everyday for our safety, and there is alway ungrateful people like yourself that has the answers to everything but I didnt hear you suggestioning any other alternatives to how this should have went down. I commend the men and women who are willing to put there lives on the line day in and day out to protect myself and my family, Thank you Wellford Police Dept and please keep up the good work.
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( Alan ) on August 21, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Just to be fair to the officers involved and to paint a little better picture….The article read the bad guy was going 90 miles an hour in a 35 mph zone. Almost three (3) times the posted speed limit before the police became involved. At what speed would it have been appropriate for the police to actually get involved…100…maybe 120? The bad guy, not the police, was the immediate threat. By going 90 mph in a neighborhood, the bad guy (not the police ) was putting innocent lives in danger. Look at it from another point of view…Bad guy runs through your neighborhood at 90 mph and passes a cop, who does nothing. Then the bad guy strikes and kills an innocent person. Then there is a news story about why the police did not do their job and its the police officers fault that someone was injured or killed because he did not stop the bad guy. I hope this makes some pause and rethink this story and their thoughts about it. Either way the police are blamed….and the bad guy who caused all of it is forgotten. If a guy goes through my neighborhood at 90 mph..I pray the cops catch him so that he wont be able to do it again for a while. Just curious, didchannel 7 look up this guys background…would be real curious to see his history.
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( apollo ) on August 21, 2008 at 3:24 pm
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO PUT THEM IN JAIL IF YOU DON’T CHASE THEM??? HI POWER RIFLE ??? HOLAAR HALT???IF THERE IS A BETTER WAY WHY DON’T GIVE US A CLUE…I ALSO BELIVE IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO STOP THEM YOU SHOULD NOT CHASE THEM MORE THAN 10 OR 15 MILES. 2 OR 3 HOURS IS WRONG.
Report Inappropriate Comment
Posted by ( Queen B ) on August 21, 2008 at 10:10 am
While I commend our law enforcement for the job that they do I am upset by the high speed chase Thursday night in pursuit of Foster. My family and I were on the driveway of my parents house loading our children into the car when several law enforcement vehicles and the person they were chasing came speeding up our small street. They were going everywhere. Some even ran up into our church yard with one police vehicle coming within a few feet of crashing into our sanctuary. We did not know what to do or which way to run. My sister, her husband and two children were just about to walk to their home a few hundred feet down the street from my parents when this took place. If they had started home they would have been hit and more than likely a fatality would have occured the way they were driving around like maniacs. Law Enforcement needs to take into consideration the crime that these people have committed before pursuing them at high speed. I do not feel that forgery is serious enough to put innocent people’s lives in danger. Yes I am glad they caught this guy and I hope he stays in jail but he was more of a danger to society by chasing him at a high rate of speed, especially if he had been drinking. I am just glad no one was hurt in this circus ride.
Report Inappropriate Comment