The Light at the End of the Tennie
Just outside Lawrence, Kansas, police were called to an all-night market that had just been robbed. A male Caucasian had brandished a weapon and demanded money from a store employee. After stuffing the money into his pants pocket, he fled down the street.
Units in the area responded quickly to the alarm. Within moments, two officers on patrol had spotted a man running behind some houses in a nearby neighborhood. Certain that they had the right man, they gave chase on foot.
But the suspect wasn’t really worried. It was dark, he was a very fast runner, and he knew the neighborhood like the back of his hand. He was sure he would have no trouble eluding the cops.
It didn’t take long for the fleet-footed suspect to leave the first pair of officers behind, but he was surprised when more officers quickly joined in the chase. Each time the thief would elude one officer, he would be spotted by another. The crook couldn’t understand it; he was using his best moves.
The pursuing officers had just followed the lights.
At last there were too many officers on the scene who apparently could see quite well in the dark. Our suspect looked frustrated and surprised when he was finally captured.
But he was even more surprised and frustrated once the police told him how they knew where he was all the time. He really hadn’t been hard to follow at all, thanks to advanced technology.
The pursuing officers had just followed the lights. Not the infrared lights used for night vision, but the red lights on the heels of the suspect’s high-tech tennis shoes—the ones that blinked on and off every time his feet hit the ground.