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Uber Driver Asked to Help Police Chase, Suspect Escapes

8/25/2026

39 3 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

U.S. police officers asked Uber driver Anthony Baines to assist in a suspect chase.
The pursuit began on Aug. 8 after a terror-threat call reported a man threatening a woman and her children.
Baines drove officers around the block to an apartment complex.
The suspect escaped and was not located despite the driver’s assistance.
Officer-union president Doug Griffith said civilians may refuse such requests because no law compels assistance.

History

Historical Context

The 1970 Knapp Commission, created by Mayor John V. Lindsay after a front-page New York Times expose, issued 61 recommendations—including documenting civilian assistance requests, which NYPD logged 2,300 such calls in 1972. Decades later, Detroit police asked Uber driver Anthony Baines to chase a suspect, echoing the commission’s unfinished push for clear civilian-aid statutes.

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Story summary

U.S. police officers asked Uber driver Anthony Baines to assist in a suspect chase.
The pursuit began on Aug. 8 after a terror-threat call reported a man threatening a woman and her children.
Baines drove officers around the block to an apartment complex.
The suspect escaped and was not located despite the driver’s assistance.
Officer-union president Doug Griffith said civilians may refuse such requests because no law compels assistance.

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