Police Chase Ends In Damage, Arrest of Bankrobbery Couple Nn 31st Street Bridge
Pittsburgh, sept 8 2008 The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office and Pittsburgh Police say they plan to fully investigate a dramatic police chase that unfolded during rush hour.
Police arrested 36-year-old John McCleavy and 21-year-old Meghan Jaegar on the 31st Street Bridge following a bank robbery at National City Bank in Banksville.
They remain in the Allegheny County Jail on $250,000 straight bond.
The probe into the chase will include how the arrests were made and the decision was made to start the chase in the first place.
Police say they will not release details into how they made the decision to begin the chase because they don't have to by law and they don't want to tip their hands to criminals in the future.
David Shrager, McCleavy's attorney, says he has plenty of questions.
"I have questions from the beginning of that morning until the end of that day," he tells KDKA. "You know, what led up, what transpired. I'm at the very beginning of a long process and like I said I have more questions than answers."
Police say McCleavy at times was traveling as fast as 75mph Route 28 north and south with police following behind. Police say at times they wanted to back off but McCleavy kept going, posing a threat to the public so they kept going.
Police used stop trips to try and end the chase to no avail.
Shrager says there are still more questions.
"How was this handled, why was it handled the way it was handled, and was it handled appropriately?," he said.
McCleavy's attorney says police may have used excessive force in making the arrest.
"Well I went and saw and visited with him yesterday. Physically he looked pretty rough," Shrager said. "His face was swollen like a balloon, his whole back was one giant bruise. It looked like someone who'd been through a hell of a beating."
The investigation into the case will take some time because of the large geographical area involved and the fact that several other police forces are involved.
Shrager says he has to scrutinize the videotape before he figures out his next step. In the meantime, he's going to focus on getting his client out of jail.
