SLIDEL, Mo. (WFLA) — The Slidell Police Department says officers were dispatched to a shoplifting incident in progress on Nov. 1 and a pursuit began after a Florida woman fled the store.
SPD said the woman, identified as Kelsey Baird of Navarre, threw away the items she had tried to steal from Dillard’s when she spotted officers.
Body camera footage shows the officer spoke to Baird and asked him to walk with her before fleeing into the parking lot.
SPD said officers attempted to stop Baird, but the foot pursuit ended when Baird got into a parked car.
SPD said the driver and Baird’s friend Eric Boudreau waited in the parking lot and began honking their horns to alert Baird to their whereabouts.
Body camera footage showed the officer telling Boudreau to stop, but the car left the parking lot at a high rate of speed.
According to SPD, a good Samaritan who witnessed the incident noticed that the officers were not near the patrol car and offered to help track down the suspect.
A civilian-police duo pursued the vehicle, and the officer relayed the information to responding units over the police radio.
SPD said deputies arrived and took Boudreau and Baird into custody, but both men denied any fault.
According to SPD, officers arrested Boudreau and Baird on suspicion of theft and fleeing an officer. Additionally, SPD said Baird was charged with possession of a second drug, methamphetamine.
“To all the Good Samaritans I spoke to this morning, it’s people like you that make Slidell a great place to live and work,” said Slidell Police Chief Daniel Suznow. “You without hesitation helped one of our officers without expecting anything in return.”
