On September 13, 2021, at approximately 3:06 am Parsons Police Sergeant Brice Dickens attempted to stop a motorcycle that had no taillights in the 2200 block of Crawford.

The driver of the motorcycle failed to stop when Sergeant Dickens activated his emergency equipment to stop the vehicle. Instead of stopping the driver turned south onto 25th Street and continued to try and evade officers. The driver continued fleeing throughout the west side of Parsons and eventually attempted to ride though a yard in the 3000 block of Main where he accidentally laid the motorcycle over and took off on foot. Sergeant Dickens gave chase, he and other officers were eventually able to catch the suspect in the 3000 block of Washington.

The driver, Steven Michael Leon 31 of Parsons, was taken into custody without further incident. Leon is being held, and charges are being filed in the Labette County Court for Driving While Suspended, Speeding, No Insurance, Expired Tag, Illegal Tag, Failure to Stop at Stop Sign, Defective Equipment, Unsafe Turning, Interference with Law Enforcement, Reckless Driving and Fleeing or Attempting to Elude. Officers evaluated Leon's medical status and found he was not injured when laying the motorcycle over.

Parsons Police Deputy Chief Dennis Dodd said, "I am glad this came to a relatively peaceful resolution. Vehicle chases have the ability to spiral out of control in an instant. The driver was taken into custody and sustained no reported injuries and that is the best outcome we can hope for. A job well done to Sergeant Dickens and his crew for the arrest."

This continues to be an on-going investigation and citizens are encouraged to "See It, Hear It, Report It." If anyone has any further information on this incident or any other criminal activity, please contact the Parsons Police Department at 421-7060 or call the Tip Line at 421-7057 or email at tips@parsonspd.com.

# # # # #