‘It’s a societal issue,’ area law enforcement concerned about rising car thefts, attacks on officers

This browser does not support the video element.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A series of attacks on police officers leading to high-speed pursuits and an officer-involved shooting have area law enforcement leaders searching for solutions to the rise in violent crime involving stolen property.

“For an individual to get shot, for one of my deputies to get ran over, because of a stolen vehicle is just ridiculous,” said Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck. “We have to figure out what to do to try to slow some of this stuff down.”

>> Deputy hit by car during traffic stop released from hospital; Suspect shot, arrested after pursuit

This browser does not support the video element.

Streck spoke late Tuesday after one of his deputies was hit by a vehicle multiple times prior to a woman being shot by officers and leading them on a high-speed chase that ended on I-75.

The crime spree is the latest in a rising trend, police say involves violence around stolen vehicles in Montgomery County.

“It’s just getting very brazen and I agree with Sheriff Streck,” said Maj. Matthew Sturgeon with Riverside Police. “It’s a societal issue.”

Hours before the deputy was hit in Harrison Twp., Riverside police were involved in a more than 100 mile chase involving a semi that was stolen in Riverside from a trucking business.

>> CRUISER CAM: Shots fired at officers during 100-mile pursuit involving stolen semi

During the chase, Sturgeon said the semi’s driver fired at Riverside police while fleeing on the highway. The pursuit ended in Adams County, Indiana with a SWAT team arresting both the driver and passenger.

“You’re involved in a pursuit over 100 miles, you’re firing on police officers, it just shows that there’s something going on in society right now, where there’s just no regard for public safety, let alone the safety of police officers,” Sturgeon “I don’t know what the solution is to it.”

This browser does not support the video element.

While both Riverside and the sheriff’s office have had high-profile crimes involving stolen vehicles, Dayton police and Huber Heights police too have dealt with violence around stolen cars in recent weeks.

On Thursday, a stolen SUV sped from Huber Heights police after the driver was accused of pointing a gun at a man who was following the stolen vehicle.

>> Suspect in stolen SUV pursuit served time in prison twice for violent crimes

Huber Heights police stopped the chase and moments later the stolen SUV was involved in a crash that ended with a vehicle into a laundromat. The driver, who had served multiple stints in prison for violent crimes, was arrested and is now facing new charges.

In late January, five teens were accused of crimes connected to the shooting death of a Lyft driver and a separate carjacking involving another Lyft driver that led to a standoff in Dayton.

>> Lyft driver killed in shooting identified as Beavercreek man; 5 teens facing charges

Dayton Police Lt. Jason Hall said the violence started in the overnight hours Jan. 26, after police received a 911 call involving a Lyft driver being carjacked at gunpoint on St. Agnes Avenue. The female Lyft driver was able to run to a nearby house, where the resident called 911, according to a 911 call obtained by News Center 7.

About an hour later, police were called to the 1000 block of Ferguson Avenue and found another Lyft driver Brandon Cooper, 35 of Beavercreek, dead after he’d been shot and crashed into another car, Hall said.

“The (method of operation) that was being used was to summon a rideshare and then during the transaction robbed the driver,” Hall said.

The investigation eventually led investigators to a home in the 300 block of Anna Street, where the vehicle stolen on St. Agnes Avenue was found. Multiple people were inside the house and refused to come out, so SWAT officers were called.

The teens ultimately arrested in the Dayton case were between the ages of 15 and 16.

Streck said the rise in violence around car thefts comes down to an issue that he says needs to be solved.

“People just have no regard for authority at this point. We just have to figure it out,” the Sheriff said.