An Atlanta highway became the scene of a bizarre chase through the rain. Officers had to weigh the risk of pursuing a large Penske rental box truck on the wet road. In the end, two police departments worked together to contain the potentially deadly situation.

A professional shoplifter with a very unprofessional plan

Employees at a Belk store in Newman, Georgia saw a suspicious man prowling the aisles. It was 34-year-old Eric Robert Coleman. “They noticed that he had been at the store for about three hours. It was later determined that he had tried stealing about $1,200 in items.” He spent the day cutting tags from merchandise and hiding expensive cologne. Then he tried to casually stroll out, but Belk’s loss prevention officers confronted him. They said,”When he got to the door, he dropped the stuff and ran out.”

What was Coleman’s getaway vehicle? A large Penske rental box truck. It was more than enough vehicle for his shoplifting spree, and a bit too much for his getaway. He wasn’t hard to spot, and Newman Police quickly caught up with the truck on I-85. They signaled for Coleman to pull over, but he floored it instead.

Georgia Police pursue the Penske rental truck

As Coleman raced off through the rain, the Newman Police had a decision to make. Do they let an unsuccessful shoplifter go, or press on with a dangerous chase of a big Penske rental truck in the rain? Newman Police backed off. They still had another trick up their sleeves, radioing ahead to the Crowed County Sheriff’s Office to pick the suspect up.

Sheriff’s officers also had no trouble spotting the Penske rental truck, but faced the same challenge. Sgt. Chris Ricketson of the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, “Do to the weather conditions, deputies had to exercise a lot more caution because of the heavy rain.”

They signaled for Coleman to pull over. Again, he refused. So the deputies carefully performed a PIT maneuver, making contact with the rear bumper of the truck to spin it off the road. It spun across the highway and stuck a median. Police immediately took Coleman into custody.

So what was in the truck? It was packed with stolen merchandise from other stores. Because the tags were cut off, police are still trying to identify where everything came from. Meanwhile Coleman is facing charges for felony shoplifting, as well as two counts of fleeing and reckless driving. Thanks to the Newman Police’s responsible decision, no one was injured in the chase.