BY CHIEF P.K. JOHNSON
MILLBROOK POLICE DEPARTMENT
On Monday, April 12, 2021, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Millbrook police attempted to stop a 2008 Cadillac CTS, having clocked the vehicle at 81 miles per hour on Highway 14, at Monument Drive. The vehicle continued westbound on Highway 14, refusing to stop. The vehicle turned northbound onto I-65, continuing northbound at speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour.
The pursuit continued northbound until the suspect vehicle got off at Clanton exit 212, where the vehicle stopped in the 3000 block of Lay Dam Road. The vehicle’s driver, later identified as Rodriguez D. Harbison, a 37-year-old Prattville resident, was taken into custody without incident. There was no damage to vehicles, nor any injuries as a result of the pursuit.
Harbison was transported to the Millbrook Police Department, being charged with Attempting to Elude and Reckless Endangerment. He was processed and later transported to the Elmore County Jail under a $2,000 bond. Harbison later made bond and was turned over to the Prattville Police Department on outstanding arrest warrants.
We are extremely fortunate that no one was injured as a result of this individual’s reckless behavior and disregard for the lives of others in his path this morning, as well as his own life. Had this person simply pulled over when officers signaled him to do so, he’d received a few traffic citations and obviously he’d have been arrested on Prattville’s outstanding warrants.
Now he’s got several new charges, numerous traffic citations, as well as the existing charges that he already faced prior to contact with our officers. He just further complicated his troubles with law enforcement and unnecessarily endangered countless lives in the process. I can assure him, as well as our citizens, we don’t take this situation lightly. Our officers did an outstanding job during this pursuit, utilizing great patience and restraint during the pursuit, as well as affecting the arrest once the pursuit terminated.
We appreciate the Clanton Police Department. Who assisted during the pursuit and arrest. We intend to prosecute this individual to the fullest extent when his case comes to Municipal Court. This is not this young man’s first time dealing with law enforcement, nor the consequences of his actions. This behavior will not be tolerated in our City and I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty, this young man may want to bring a toothbrush when he appears in Court to face these charges. Running only make matters worse and places folks in danger unnecessarily. It’s not worth it!
