Filed under: Japan
Osaka PD puts all it has into a car chase. And we mean everything
Toward the end of The Professional, Detective Stansfield is about to go after hitman Leon, and Stansfield tells his second in command "Get me everyone." When his second asks what he means, he screams "I... mean... EVERYONE." Something like that must have happened in Osaka, Japan, when the police department got a bead on a man wanted for assaulting police officers.
Twenty-seven-year-old Hirofumi Fukuda, driving a white Lexus sedan, was approached by a patrol car for running red lights. When he saw the police, he did what any self-respecting lawbreaker would do: he took off. That's the easy part. The double-take comes when it took 2,240 police officers, 460 police cars, and one helicopter two hours to catch the man. The city of Osaka is just 85.4 square miles -- about the size of Baltimore. Which is a lot of police in a little space looking for one single guy. And in fact, they didn't catch him: he crashed into a bridge support and sustained minor injuries. If he ever gets out of prison, he'll be a great guy to play Grand Theft Auto IV with.
Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!
[Source: Japan Today]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
zamafir 6:36PM (1/25/2008)
Greates... Movie... Ever.
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sheikhness 6:43PM (1/25/2008)
not very long ago, the chief of police would have commited sepuku over much less than this kind of "losing face"
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Seoultrain 6:43PM (1/25/2008)
460 cars? Did they try to artificially create a traffic jam to catch him?
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Russell 6:49PM (1/25/2008)
He was lucky it was in Japan and not in the country where police officers shoot first and ask questions later.
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DonatoM3 7:06PM (1/25/2008)
Hey a clip of ammunition costs less than all the manpower and fuel spent there.
catgirlshyla 7:38PM (1/25/2008)
"driving a white Lexus sedan...."
It's actually a Toyota Celsior. The vidclip here proves it.
http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=3647
You can clearly see the Toyota Bull Logo on the Front Grill and the Steering Wheel in two shots.
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Joel 7:55PM (1/25/2008)
The Lexus LS400 and LS430 were badge-engineered versions of the Toyota Celsior, since the Lexus brand didn't launch in Japan until a couple years ago.
catgirlshyla 12:47AM (1/26/2008)
*facepalm*
Jus....Just don't say anything. Don't say anything. I don't know whats sadder to be honest.....
Tsunami Racer 12:06PM (1/28/2008)
actually, according to the news footage, the dood got out of the all white Celsior/LS430 after ramming police cars and got into ANOTHER car, which appears to the be the two tone white/gray Toyota Crown which he ultimately crashed, pictured above. note the pillarless hardtop doors on the smashed up Crown.
SPF 7:46PM (1/25/2008)
WTF?
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Brent Worrell 8:42PM (1/25/2008)
ya know i saw something like that at the end of NFS most wanted. Any relation?
JunkStory 8:52PM (1/25/2008)
LOL
Japanese people are funny.
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Monte 8:52PM (1/25/2008)
Maybe the driver was on a mission from God?
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Ted 9:52PM (1/25/2008)
Musta been a slow crime day.
:D
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elprogramer 10:15PM (1/25/2008)
"And nothing of value was lost."
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Harrison 10:44PM (1/25/2008)
I don't think we Americans should be laughing.
Remember the OJ car chase?
:D
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Seoultrain 5:34AM (1/26/2008)
lol...
Any excuse for this Arrested Development quote:
Car Salesman: Yeah, the Bronco’s been discontinued. We’re trying to shed that whole fugitive on the run thing. This is the Escape.
dan 4:55AM (1/27/2008)
@Seoultrain:
Oh, and watch out for hop-ons. You'll get some hop-ons.
Malhaar 8:31AM (1/26/2008)
haha omg!!! poor Lexus :-(
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mikomi 12:38PM (1/26/2008)
Did anyone for one moment consider the possibility that the source is twisting the truth just a bit? Most of those forces were probably on stand-by awaiting orders, otherwise doing their equally stereotypical equivalent of North American officer's coffee and donuts stereotype.
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