By Grace Murphy, Portland Press Herald Writer
Portland police Sgt. Robin Gauvin removes handcuffs from suspect Steven Berry after his SUV crashed at the corner of Forest Avenue and William Street during a chase Thursday. At right, firefighter-paramedic Justin Bragdon prepares Berry for transport to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and then transferred to jail.
Staff photo by Doug Jones A Portland firefighter looks into the SUV that crashed after a South Portland police officer forced it off the road, ending a lengthy chase in busy noontime traffic. The pursuit was mostly low-speed, but did reach 60 mph in some areas.
Staff photo by John Patriquin Police and emergency vehicles ring the crime scene Thursday at the corner of Forest Avenue and William Street. Rachel Morrison, who was eating hamburgers with her sister at Burger King, said she saw the SUV crash. “It went rolling through the air and the police drew their guns,” she said.
A 36-year-old man spent the night in Cumberland County Jail after a lengthy chase that wound through five communities Thursday before ending in a crash on Forest Avenue in Portland.
Police said they believed that the driver leading the chase, Steven Berry, had forced a woman into a black Suzuki Sidekick, assaulted her, then prevented her from escaping as he drove through South Portland, Scarborough, Westbrook, Falmouth and Portland.
South Portland Police Officer Kevin Battle brought the chase to an end at 12:16 p.m. when he used his cruiser to force Berry off the road.
Witnesses said the small SUV flipped in the air before landing on a knee-high black fence around the Debbie Elliott Salon & Spa on William Street. Lunch-hour traffic came to a halt and was rerouted around the scene while ambulances took Berry and the woman to Maine Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
Police did not identify the woman or specify her relationship with Berry, saying she was not charged with any crime Thursday.
Berry, who is believed to be from Portland, was charged with eluding a police officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, assault, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, operating after suspension and violation of bail conditions.
Additional charges could follow once police conclude their investigation, said South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins.
Berry had been out on bail after being arrested Jan. 31 by Portland police on a drug trafficking charge, Googins said.
The chase started around 11:20 a.m. at the Amerisuites Hotel on Sable Oaks Drive in South Portland after a hotel employee called police about hypodermic needles found outside a room.
As Officer Kevin Battle made his way to the hotel, police were told that the room’s occupants were loading up a vehicle in the parking lot.
“Further information was received that it appeared to be a domestic dispute because the male was grabbing the female by the neck and forcing her into their vehicle,” Googins said.
Battle saw the Suzuki begin traveling down Sable Oaks Drive. As he approached, the woman tried to get out and screamed for help, Googins said.
The man grabbed the woman, pulled her back into the SUV and nearly struck Battle as he turned onto Running Hill Road, he said.
The resulting pursuit was “mostly relatively low-speed,” but did reach 60 mph in some areas, Googins said.
Berry drove through Scarborough, Portland, Falmouth and Westbrook before returning to Portland. At least twice during the chase, Berry was able to avoid spike mats and stop sticks that would have punctured his tires, Googins said.
The woman tried to jump out several times during the chase, but was restrained, police said. At one point in Falmouth, a knapsack was thrown out the window. At another, a school bus was run off the road, Googins said.
Karmen LePage encountered the chase while driving with her stepdaughter through Westbrook. She pulled over to make way for the SUV and police, then followed the chase to its conclusion on Forest Avenue.
LePage said she was angry with police for conducting a chase during heavy traffic on busy roads.
“The police department, they have no business chasing that guy at that speed. They could’ve just gotten his (license) plate,” she said.
But Ellsworth Rundlett, an attorney who said he was nearly hit by the SUV when it passed him in the crosswalk at High and Spring streets, praised police for stopping the driver before anyone was hurt.
“You say to yourself, how many lives did that guy endanger from the time he started to the time he left off?” Rundlett said.
Don Winckler said he was driving on Forest Avenue near the U.S. Post Office when the SUV and police cruisers passed.
“He could have killed someone, driving that way in twelve o’clock traffic on Forest Avenue,” Winckler said.
Battle ran his cruiser into a corner of the SUV as it turned onto William Street in an effort to stop it before anyone was hurt, Googins said.
Sisters Nicole-Jo and Rachel Morrison were eating hamburgers in the parking lot near Burger King when they saw the cruiser hit the SUV.
“It went rolling through the air and the police drew their guns,” Rachel Morrison said.
Googins said the department is investigating the pursuit but Battle did not appear to violate departmental pursuit policies.
South Portland police are also trying to determine whether the radio communication among agencies could have worked better, he said.
Googins said concern for the woman was the reason police continued the pursuit for nearly an hour, and through several communities.
“This was not a pursuit for a traffic violation. We felt that this woman was in serious jeopardy,” he said.
Portland police are investigating the crash because it happened in Portland, involved a South Portland officer, and allowed South Portland police to concentrate on their investigation, said Portland police Capt. Russell Gauvin.
Berry was jailed overnight without bail. Because he violated previous bail conditions, the bail on the chase charges could be $50,000, jail officials said.