Jan 29th, 2021
The Mobile Police Department has named Ashley Foster the Civilian Employee of the Month for December 2020. Foster is a public safety dispatcher in the Communications Unit with seven years of service. She is recognized for her involvement in the capture of a shooting and kidnapping suspect.
On December 4, 2020, Foster was assigned to dispatch on the Second Precinct. At 2:10 p.m., a unit advised that the Gulfport Task Force and Harris County Sheriff’s Office were in a vehicle pursuit involving a suspect that had kidnapped a victim and the victim was inside his vehicle. The same suspect was also wanted for a shooting that occurred earlier this date in Scott County, Mississippi. They were heading toward the Mobile Police Department jurisdiction.
Foster reacted immediately and notified the precinct’s supervisor of the information given. She dispatched officers to the area in less than a minute and waited for the fugitive to enter the Mobile Police Department’s jurisdiction.
Shortly, the units arrived in the area. The vehicles were heading eastbound on I-10 approaching Highway 90. Foster followed protocol and patched all the radio channels advising the officers citywide of the vehicle pursuit. She remained calm and relayed essential information during the pursuit.
An update was received that the suspect was attempting to ram patrol vehicles off the roadway. Foster continued to remain calm and diligently stayed focused on the task at hand. The suspect continued to cause havoc on the roadway towering through the Prichard Police Department jurisdiction, then though the Chickasaw Police Department jurisdiction and finally back to the Mobile Police Department jurisdiction.
The officers were persistent and continued the pursuit determined to save the kidnapped victim and remove this fugitive from the streets. After 30 long minutes of the officers and innocent citizens’ lives being endangered, the suspect was finally taken into custody. The kidnapped victim was safe along with the citizens of Mobile.
This outstanding group effort between Foster and the Mobile Police Department patrol units helped the Gulfport Task Force and Harris County Deputies render justice for the shooting victim and the kidnapped victim.
MOBILE POLICE DEPARTMENT