[TheList] NEWS:- Off duty Dispatcher catches thief - good one!

Mon Oct 12 13:09:47 AEDT 2009

A police dispatcher on his way home from work chased down thieves 
driving a van he had earlier reported stolen on police radio.

Yutaro Kanai was driving home after finishing work at the police 
Northern Communications Centre in Auckland, when he saw the van on the 
road beside him, Police 10-1 magazine reported.

He let the van pass him, began following it and called 111, passing on 
details of the chase to one of his colleagues.

"I wasn't sure whether I should follow it but I knew if I went into work 
the next day and it had turned out to be the stolen vehicle, I would 
beat myself up," Mr Kanai told the magazine.

At one stage, he pulled up beside the van, asking the driver to pull 
over. The request was refused.

When the driver of the stolen van began losing control of the vehicle, 
Mr Kanai pulled back to a safe distance, but kept up his pursuit.

Police eventually caught the driver.

"It was a good feeling when they caught him," Mr Kanai said.