Richfield car chase lands in kiddie pool

It started off as a traffic stop at 71st and Portland in Richfield.

"The officer approached the vehicle and noticed the ignition on the vehicle had been punched," said Richfield Police Lieutenant Todd Sandell.

"Punching" an ignition switch allows car thieves to release the steering wheel lock, start the car and drive it away.

But the Richfield officer didn't get a chance to react to what appeared to be a stolen car.

"The people took off and fled northbound on Oakland Avenue at an extremely high rate of speed," said Lt. Sandell.

In Richfield, Oakland ends at Veterans Memorial Park. The car didn't stop. It skidded, jumped the curb, hit an earthen berm and went airborne beneath the fence.

"(It) probably went airborne for 30 to 40 feet and crashed into the play structure," said the police spokesman.

The play structure was smack dab in the middle of the youngsters wading pool.

Richfield police images show the car in the pool. By the time they were made, the suspects had scaled the pool fence and taken off to hole up in a private home.

Sandell said, "Suspects actually broke into a home here on Portland Avenue that was occupied by one female and her two children. They forced their way into the home, held her captive for a short period of time where they changed clothes, forced her to give them money."

Then they took off running again. Police had set up a perimeter, and spotted the suspects running. One gave up near Milner pond, a settling poind between 66th and 65th streets west of Portland.

The other jumped into the pond and tried to escape by swimming across.

"He got about halfway across the pond and he gave up and swam back to the officers and was taken into custody there so both suspects were taken into custody," said Lieutenant Sandell.

The woman whose home was invaded by the suspects did not talk to news people.

Back at the Richfield swimming pool, employees toted up the damage... a $3300 sun shade destroyed... probably another $2000 dollars damage to broken panels in the play structure.

With sod pieces floating in the pool, and lots of dirt from the flying car settled on the bottom, the wading pool was closed until further notice.

They were thankful that the incident occurred at seven o'clock in the morning. The pool was scheduled to open at eleven o'clock. By noon on a hot day in July, there would be as many as three or four hundred youngsters in that kiddie pool.

By Ken Speake, KARE 11 News.

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