Last week's multi-state police chase has made headlines following the release of dashcam and body camera footage provided by Ohio State Highway Patrol and Pennsylvania State Police. The incident, which culminated in a deadly officer-involved shooting on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, began when Deshawn Leeth, reportedly after being involved in a separate car crash, confronted an Ohio State Trooper and subsequentially commandeered the officer's vehicle.
Initial contact between Leeth and the Ohio officer quickly escalated, with dashcam video capturing Leeth threatening the trooper, saying, "Next time you touch me, you gonna die," CBS News Pittsburgh reported. Despite the trooper's attempt to subdue Leeth with a Taser, the man managed to overpower the officer, telling witnesses, "I'm stronger than you." WPXI reported additional footage showed bystanders intervening to try and prevent further escalation before Leeth fled in the trooper's car.
The ensuing pursuit stretched from Ohio to Pennsylvania as Leeth, piloting the stolen cruiser, nearly collided with other vehicles several times. He continuously spoke to himself during the chase, recorded by the cruiser's dashcam. "Hey, car, I rebuke anything that gets behind me, I rebuke anything that's in front of me," Leeth can be heard in the footage reported by CBS News Pittsburgh. The chase ended when Pennsylvania State Police finally caught up with Leeth in North Sewickley Township, at which point he crashed the vehicle.
