EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Driver Makes Sunroof Escape After High-Speed Chase into MPLS
Phillip B. Halliday, of Minneapolis, after a pursuit from the west metro ended in Minneapolis on March 26, 2021.
Exclusive police squad car video released to us shows a Minneapolis man leading officers on a high-speed pursuit from the western edge of the metro, crashing his vehicle and escaping through the car’s sunroof before he’s tased and apprehended.
It started around 8 p.m. Friday, March 26 when an officer on routine patrol in Maple Plain spotted a vehicle that entered the intersection on a red light near Hwy. 12 and Baker Park Rd. The driver, 32-year-old Phillip B. Halliday, of Minneapolis, allegedly sped off from the intersection, hitting speeds of up to 128 miles per hour in the black BMW sedan, according to a statement of probable cause filed in court. He was the only occupant of the vehicle.
The officer activated his squad lights and tried to stop Halliday, but he continued onto I-394, I-94 and northbound I-35W. Officers from multiple agencies assisted, including the State Patrol and Minnetonka police. As he was careening wildly between vehicles, sparks flying from the rims of the BMW, Halliday crashed into two vehicles and a bus near Johnson St. NE in Minneapolis.
The aftermath of a pursuit from the west metro that ended in Minneapolis on March 26, 2021.
Video shows the BMW coming to rest, smoke coming from the hood. Halliday pops up through the sunroof, calmly making his way through and walking away from the wreckage. At least a half-dozen officers move in, ordering Halliday to stop. He refuses and one officer deploys a taser on Halliday, bringing him to the ground, where he is cuffed and walked back to a waiting squad.
Halliday was evaluated by paramedics and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on probable cause charges of both fleeing a police officer and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle. He was received at the jail just after 9:30 p.m. March 26, but records show he was released from custody three days later, at 9:16 p.m. on March 29.
