One Of The Scariest Police Chases

A screen grab from Oskaloosa Police bodycam footage of the apprehension of Aaron Keegel.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Last week, the Oskaloosa Police Department’s Logan Nord spotted an individual he believed may be wanted and initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle.

Nord is the school resource officer, and he had chosen to do some work at the Oskaloosa High School and then go to the elementary school afterward.

As Nord pulled out of the high school parking lot, a car was noticed approaching him. “The driver kind of just ducked his head down like this away from me,” said Nord. “I was like, that’s kind of bizarre. So when I turned around on him to try to run the plate, because I didn’t get the plate when I first drove by, I, he kind of started to speed up a little bit, but then he hit his brake, and his left tail light was out.”

That defective tail light was all he needed to initiate a traffic stop of the vehicle.

“Once I got closer to the car, I recognized it as being the vehicle that Aaron Keegel was possibly driving ,that we’ve had history with him in the past. And once I turned my lights and sirens on, the chase was on and it went for about 26 minutes all around town,” said Nord.

In high-speed chases, suspects often try to use highways to escape law enforcement. “He was trying to lose us on side streets.”

Nord called over the radio about the chase, and at least eight units answered. All available staff from the Oskaloosa Police Department and the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office converged on the chase.

The in-town chase was very hazardous to local traffic going to work and the many pedestrians making their way into shops and restaurants. At one point, the chase went through the KFC drive-thru backward as it twisted and turned onto High Avenue from there. “He was doing anything in his power to get away,” Nord explained.

Law enforcement all thanked those individuals in cars and on foot for being observant, getting their vehicles out of the way, and pointing them toward the fleeing suspect.

“Deputy Johnston was lead car at this time, and it was coming up from First Avenue West and North L towards High Avenue, getting close, to Fred’s muffler and Casey’s there, and we’d lost sight of it [car]”, explained Nord.

So law enforcement started to fan out when a report of the suspect being at Ironwood came in, where the suspect’s car became disabled.

Onlookers reported the suspect had run behind Crystal Heights care facility, and it was discovered that the suspect had hidden in the dumpster but had jumped out before law enforcement arrived.

The suspect then started going toward the Oskaloosa snow dump near Suffolk Road but was soon found hiding under a car in the vicinity area.

Two canines and several officers from both departments were on the scene to help facilitate the surrender.

Oskaloosa Police Chief Ben Boeke said no damage was reported as a result of the charge, and there were no injuries.

Mahaska County Chief Deputy Ben Johnston explained, “Due to the nature of the warrants and the fact that this individual fled from Officer Nord, all of us county deputies decided to come and assist the city in their pursuit.”

Johnston explained that after the suspect’s vehicle had become disabled, “Deputy Wilke was able to locate the individual and to get on him pretty quickly and get a surrender out of him.”

Keegel, of Ottumwa, was lodged in the Mahaska County Jail for felony eluding, reckless driving, and driving while barred, along with three outstanding warrants for escape and assault.

A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.