As the police truck with lights flashing came toward their shop seemingly chasing another pickup backward down Upton’s main drag Thursday, the crew working at Jack’d Up Trucks had plenty of time to get outside and record it on a smartphone.
That’s because the chase seemed to be happening in slow motion, about 3-5 mph, said shop owner Jack Elberson.
When he saw the police lights coming toward the shop, he banged on a window to get the attention of coworker Maxx Cowger, who went outside and recorded the patrol truck in a slow-speed pursuit of a truck driving in reverse along 2nd Street.
Elberson and Cowger then posted the video backed up by the famous “Bad Boys” theme from the television show “Cops” to the Jack’d Up Trucks Facebook page.
“We looked up the street, and there’s this old guy who runs around every day coming toward us slow,” Elberson said. “Here’s that guy backing up with the cop in front of him.”
What Elberson and Cowger saw wasn’t actually a chase, Upton Police Chief Brian Meals told Cowboy State Daily.
“It was just a vehicle stuck in reverse,” he said. “There was no incident.”
Meals said the police truck put on its lights and was running interference for the other vehicle until it could pull off the road.
He said the video with the “Bad Boys” background “was all just a funny joke.”
‘The Most Excitement We Have Around Here’
What all three agree on is that Thursday’s backward 3-5 mph chase on 2nd Street (aka Highway 14) through the town of fewer than 1,000 people was about as exciting as things usually get in Upton, Wyoming.
“That was pretty close to the most excitement we have around here,” said Cowger. “Definitely for the day, if not the week. Basically, if there are police car lights on, everybody goes to their windows to see what’s happening.”
Elberson admitted he and Cowger had fun with the video, but aside from joking about the slow-speed chase, said it was unusual to see.
“It was an odd one, for sure,” he said. “But, I guess it also wasn’t out of character for what I suspected and what I know about the drivers around here.”
Cowger also said he had to get his bearings to figure out what was happening.
“I was sitting at my desk and (someone) knocked on the window and waved me to go outside,” he said. “All I could see originally were the trucks pulled up down the highway.
“Then I saw the reverse lights and had to scratch my head to figure out what was going on.”
The truck that was stuck in reverse, and the police vehicle running interference for it, “made it through the whole length of town before he pulled over,” Cowger said, “clear out to the hardware store or co-op.”
Slowed Down The Semis
Despite the video and people seeing a police vehicle running its lights seeming to chase a truck through town, there was no wrongdoing involved, Chief Meals said.
“Just a truck stuck in reverse,” he said.
Aside from providing a little comic relief, Elberson said the unusual incident had another benefit, at least for a few minutes along the highway that runs through Upton.
“At least he was slowing down the semis that come barreling through here,” he said.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
