Drew Towery, 23, allegedly fled last night from the Arkansas side of Texarkana to the Texas side while being pursued by Texarkana, Ark., police who had received a shoplifting call from the 2700 block of N. State Line Ave.
Towery lives in Texarkana, Texas, and allegedly had a juvenile in the car with him at the time of the police pursuit, which lasted a bit over one mile.
“When the officer arrived on scene he located the suspect, Towery, pulling out of the parking lot,” said Kristi Mitchell, Public Information Officer with the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department.
“The officer then activated his emergency lights and pursued Towery a short time before arriving in the 4200 Block of Texas Blvd. The stolen property was located and returned to the store, which chose not to pursue charges against Towery,” she said.
Texarkana, Texas, Police Officers arrested Towery for having no driver’s license. Texarkana, Ark., will seek a warrant on Towery for Fleeing, Mitchell said.
Given that Texarkana is twin city, it may be confusing to citizens to determine who has arrest authority when a person flees from one state to another as Towery allegedly did about 8:30 p.m. last night.
Both police departments have arrest authority in the other jurisdiction through special legislation passed though Arkansas and Texas for officers in the city limits, which allows them to make arrests in either jurisdiction.
Officer Aaron Brower, Public Information Officer with the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department said it matters not whether any person flees from police across the state line to commit a crime. Officers will follow.
“If a person runs from a police officer and believes that all they have to do is get to the other side of the State Line Avenue to not get arrested they are mistaken,” he said.
Mitchell agreed.
“Because of the unique nature of Texarkana being divided by a state line, it is not unusual to frequently arrest or detain suspects into another jurisdiction. Both agencies have policies and procedures that are unique to determine how arrests are to be made. For the Texarkana, Ark., Police Department, all vehicle chases fall under the general supervision of the shift commander. We have a very strict pursuit policy that takes into account several factors due to the inherent risks it poses to not only officers involved, but also to the citizens of Texarkana,” she said.
