Van Buren County sheriff body cam, dash cam shows man leading deputies on slow chase

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Deputies from the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office said they were led on a slow-speed chase Wednesday afternoon.

60-year-old Jeff Henry, of Paw Paw, was pulled over during a routine traffic stop. He had a warrant out for his arrest for a previous drug charge, according to the sheriff's office.

The responding deputy asked Henry to roll his window down, to which he refused. The deputy then asked him to step out of the vehicle, which he also refused.

Investigators said Henry began to shift the car into drive, and the officer punctured his rear left tire to make a potential chase easier.

He then led the deputy on a chase through downtown Paw Paw.

According to Sheriff Dan Abbott, Henry averaged a speed of about 35–40 miles per hour, topping out at 52 miles per hour.

Abbott told News Channel 3 the pursuit was about five miles and lasted for less than 15 minutes.

Abbott, along with several deputies, eventually blocked Henry's vehicle on a country road away from downtown.

The 60-year-old then surrendered.

“We felt that our best option with this one was to get him in a felony stop," Abbott said. "Once he took off on a country road...to where we could get a stop where the public was least in danger and where we felt we had the upper hand.”

Abbott also told News Channel 3 he received word from several members of Henry's inner circle that he had told them he did not want to go back to jail, and that he planned to get into a shootout with deputies.

“They actually contacted us to let us know, ‘Hey, this is what he’s saying, this is what’s going to happen,'" he said. "'Make sure your officers and deputies are aware of it, so that they stay safe.’”

Abbott believes if Henry was able to get to his residence, like he planned to do, he could have gotten a weapon and carried out that shootout.

“Based on the information we had, we were pretty confident that he was going to have a weapon, and we were going to have a shootout with him," he said.

Henry was arraigned on Thursday. He plead not guilty to fleeing and resisting arrest.

He is due back in court for a probable cause conference on Dec. 4, and a preliminary examination is scheduled to follow on Dec. 10.