OCEAN CITY — A wild chase through the downtown area last weekend ended with an arrest of a Salisbury man on numerous charges, but no serious injuries or collisions.
Around midnight last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the downtown area observed a vehicle traveling south on Philadelphia Avenue make an illegal left turn eastbound onto 15th Street, which is one-way westbound in that area. The officer followed the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop at 1st Street and Baltimore Avenue.
With emergency lights and sirens activated, the OCPD officer followed the vehicle, later determined to be driven by Jimmy Parks, 51, of Salisbury, as it made its way through downtown streets and alleys, often going the wrong way, according to police reports.
At one point, the officer believed Parks was going to stop in the parking lot of a convenience store at North Division Street because it was illuminated, and the vehicle slowed down. However, Parks reportedly traveled through the parking lot and made a right turn and headed north onto Philadelphia Avenue, which is one-way southbound in that area.
After clearing southbound Philadelphia Avenue and observing no oncoming traffic, the OCPD officer continued to follow Parks as he wove his way through the downtown area. The officer’s lights and sirens were activated during the entire chase, according to police reports. When Parks reached 3rd Street, the tailing officer was told to discontinue to traffic stop.
The initial OCPD official did discontinue the pursuit, but never lost sight of Parks’ vehicle. OCPD officers picked up Parks again and attempted to initiate a traffic stop at 14th Street. Parks continued to weave through streets and alleys in the downtown area, often at low or high rates of speed, according to police reports. At one point, he struck a curb at 17th Street and blew out the vehicle’s rear tires.
Parks continued driving with deflated tires and at different points in the chase rolled through traffic signals with red lights. Parks made it as far north as 33rd Street before turning around and heading south again, according to police reports. After weaving through downtown streets with OCPD officers in pursuit, Parks’ vehicle finally came to a stop at Tuna Lane, which is a dead-end road.
OCPD officers performed a high-risk stop, but Parks quickly exited his vehicle and assumed a combative stance as if he wanted to fight the officers, according to police reports. Parks reportedly reached his hand toward his rear waistband area with his hand concealed and OCPD officers were uncertain if he was reaching for a weapon, according to police reports.
An OCPD officer targeted Parks with his department-issued handgun and repeatedly told Parks to show him his hands, according to police reports.
Parks reportedly failed to comply with the commands and slowly walked away from the vehicle and toward the bay. Even after Parks was ordered to stop and get on the ground, he continued to walk away through a grassy area and behind a residence and out of sight. He was located a short time later and placed under arrest.
According to police reports, a search incident to the arrest revealed a plastic bag of suspected cocaine, a cup one-quarter-full of a brown alcoholic beverage and a large glass bottle of brandy in the trunk with its seal broken. The officer noted in the report about half of the liquid contents in the brandy bottle were gone, according to police reports.
Parks was transported to the Public Safety Building, where he failed to perform field sobriety tests to the officers’ satisfaction. He was charged with obstructing and hindering, possession of cocaine and 20 total traffic counts including driving under the influence.
