Overview

• Michigan State Police spotted the stolen Chevrolet in Detroit and followed it west to Livonia, where officers deployed the front-mounted Grappler device.
• The net wrapped a rear wheel and the driver’s repeated reversing and acceleration tore off the rear axle, with a small fire quickly extinguished and westbound I-96 closed during the stop.
• A 27-year-old Brighton man driving the car and two passengers, a 32-year-old Wayne woman and a 31-year-old Livonia woman, were arrested, and no injuries were reported.
• Livonia officials called the axle failure atypical and attributed the damage to the suspect’s efforts to escape rather than routine device performance.
• Device creator Leonard Stock reports use in 35 states with about 1,500 missions and says Livonia is the only department in Michigan using it, as local leaders cite an 80% rise in flee-and-elude cases in recent years.