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Cranberry Twp. police officer receives award for response to truck pursuit in February

Ken Ruckel, chief of police at Cranberry Township, left, hands Sgt. Mike Marshall, right, the Stop Stick Hit of the Month award. Submitted photo

Cranberry Township Police Sgt. Mike Marshall was recognized by Stock Stick for his deployment of the company’s tire deflation device to end a 14-minute pursuit in February with the Hit of the Month award in the “east region.”

The incident involving a U-Haul truck stemmed from McGeary Street in Butler. The police chase continued onto Cranberry Township.

The Stop Stick was deployed at the intersection of Franklin and Peters roads. After driving for 1 mile, the suspect stopped the car in Adams township and was taken into custody, township police Lt. Chuck Mascellino said.

The rollout was a “textbook success,” according to the manufacturer’s website: The device struck all four tires, discouraged the suspect from continuing the chase and led to him, being taken into custody safely, as intended.

“It was good communication between all the agencies,” Mascellino said about the authorities’ handling of the situation.

“(Marshall’s) quick thinking and professionalism safely brought the pursuit to an end after a kidnapping victim made a courageous escape, helping protect the victim, responding officers and the community,” according a Facebook post by the Cranberry Township Police Department.

“Its obviously nice to be recognized by an outside agency,” said Mascellino. “Pursuit is one of the more dangerous (situations) we deal with and it was good team work between everyone involved.

“Sgt. Marshall’s training was able to bring that to a safe conclusion.”

From left to right, Ken Ruckel, Cranberry Township chief of police, Sgt. Mike Marshall and Lt. Chuck Mascellino. Submitted photo

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