SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A Christmas Eve call at a Georgia golf course turned into an unconventional police pursuit when a wanted suspect attempted to flee — not in a car, but in a golf cart.
Sandy Springs Police Department officers responded Dec. 24 to a local golf course while attempting to locate a wanted suspect connected to a prior incident. When officers arrived and made contact, the suspect fled in a golf cart.
Bodycam video shows officers quickly adapting to the unconventional escape attempt, hopping into nearby golf carts and pursuing across the course. The pursuit was brief, and officers caught up to the suspect and ordered him to stop the cart. The suspect complied and was taken into custody.
“Golf carts: Great for golf. Not for getaways,” the department later wrote in a social media post summarizing the incident. “Reminder: Golf carts are not a getaway vehicle.”
The department confirmed the individual was taken into custody peacefully following the short pursuit.
While the incident itself ended quickly, the department’s follow-up posts turned the moment into a reminder — and a bit of levity — about fleeing from police.
In the days after the pursuit, Sandy Springs Police leaned into the moment, unveiling what they dubbed their new “Fairway Unit” — a fully marked police golf cart equipped with blue emergency lights.
“You’ve seen the chase … now meet the upgrade,” the department posted. “Monitoring golf courses and beyond, because we like to be prepared. And just a reminder … running is never the right move.”
The lighthearted rollout continued with a final announcement: an upgrade to the Fairway Unit that police said makes them “theoretically, emotionally and spiritually prepared” for pursuit tactics — at golf cart speeds.
“Our new pursuit-rated golf cart has officially been upgraded with a push bumper,” the department wrote. “This means we are now theoretically, emotionally and spiritually prepared to perform PIT maneuvers … at approximately 12 mph. Crime has been warned.”
