On a recent Monday afternoon in downtown Tucson Arizona, a bizarre series of events played out that would be instantly familiar for anyone who’s ever played any of the numerous iterations of the popular Grand Theft Auto video game franchise. Around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, immediately adjacent to the bus station in busy Downtown Tucson (or should I say Vice City?), a 34 year old man armed with a handgun attempted to car jack a vehicle full of passengers. He failed in this attempt, which ended with him firing a few pistol shots at the car as it tore off. Naturally, this attracted the attention of a nearby off duty police officer working security for the bus station, who called 911. At this point, still on foot, he ran south toward the rough side of town (and Tucson Police HQ), down a street notorious for local gang activity (he probably had at least 2 stars by then). Finally, police arrived as he was attempting (and failing) to car jack yet another vehicle. When one of the responding officers exited his vehicle to confront this erstwhile Tommy Vercetti, he pushed the officer out of the way and actually stole his police car (I am NOT making this up), and took off while exchanging gunfire with the cop, who gave chase on foot. The incident finally ended as dozens of officers converged on the man while he drove erratically (earning 4 out of 5 stars, since the National Guard had not yet been called out) and finally crashed into a city bus. He was hauled out of the now demolished police cruiser, arrested, handcuffed and eventually sent to the hospital, where he died of his injuries. Fortunately, no one else was hurt, not even the police officer whose car was stolen.

Now, I know I’m making light of what was a dangerous and ultimately deadly situation, but I think the incident brings some important realities to light. Most significantly, even when cops are in immediate pursuit of a dangerous man, they cannot prevent him from engaging in violent criminal actions. That man failed in his repeated attempts at car jacking out of either incompetence, the quick thinking of his intended victims, or some combination thereof. Despite the fact that police were well aware of this man and his nefarious intent, they could only REACT to what he was doing. And that’s all the police can EVER do in response to violent criminals. Your safety is primarily your own responsibility, and when a car jacker comes knocking on your window, keep that in mind. There’s an old old saying that goes, ‘when seconds count, police are just minutes away’. In this case, even with the cops LITERALLY just seconds away, they still couldn’t stop this man’s wild rampage until he ended it himself by plowing the stolen police cruiser into a city bus.