Army vet learns daughter got attacked, but she's at college 1,000 miles away. So he's on a plane that day and settles things.



Bill Steinkirchner and his wife, Melanie, got a call Sunday morning from their college-student daughter that no parent wants to receive.

Melanie Steinkirchner wrote on Facebook that their daughter was walking to breakfast when a male assaulted her, took swings at her, said he had a gun, and threatened to kill her. She was able to duck down, run, and avoid getting hurt, but she was still shaken during her phone call home.

But Dad was undeterred, recalling to the station that he told police, 'No! I'm not gonna stop following him. This is my daughter. I’ve got to get this guy.'

But her home is in Southern California — and KIRO-TV noted that the Steinkirchners' daughter is a student at the University of Washington in Seattle. That's about 1,000 miles away.

But that distance was no barrier for Dad.

"As soon as we got that call, Bill booked a flight and was on his way to Seattle," Melanie wrote on Facebook. "I truly didn't want him taking this into his own hands, but I couldn't stop him."

Steinkirchner — owner of Stone Church Brewing in Corona — told the station he booked the next flight to Seattle with the intention of confronting the male who threatened his daughter.

“I think any father would’ve done the same thing," he told KIRO. "It’s my baby girl."

Oh, and by the way, Steinkirchner told Blaze News his previous profession was Army colonel.

Melanie wrote on Facebook that her husband landed in Seattle around 2:30 p.m. that same day and arrived at the university district around 3:30 p.m. Steinkirchner had descriptions of the male and received photos of him from his daughter and her fellow students, KIRO said, adding that students reported on a UW message board being harassed by the same male throughout the weekend.

Steinkirchner told KIRO he was retracing his daughter's steps — and around 4 p.m. he spotted the assailant, Melanie wrote.

"And I looked at him, and I said, 'Hey!'" Steinkirchner recounted to KIRO, adding that he yelled a few expletives at the male, who immediately ran away.

Steinkirchner added to the station that despite the fact that he turns 60 next month and was wearing a backpack, he chased after the male.

What's more, Steinkirchner added to KIRO that he was on the phone with police during the chase through an alley, noting that authorities ordered him to "stop following" the male and insisted that "you can’t chase him."

But Dad was undeterred, recalling to the station that he told police, "No! I'm not gonna stop following him. This is my daughter. I’ve got to get this guy."

KIRO said Steinkirchner finally cornered the male, and police soon arrived and handcuffed him.

Image source: Bill Steinkirchner, used by permission

Officers then brought Steinkirchner’s daughter to the scene to identify the suspect, the station said. Here's video from Steinkirchner of that moment:

Police then took 23-year-old Ryan Dileo into custody, KIRO said.

"A nearby security guard identified Dileo as the suspect in other similar incidents involving swinging a broom. Officers arrested Dileo for investigation of felony harassment. Dileo was booked in the King County Jail," Seattle police said in a statement to the station.

Melanie added the following to her Facebook post, "Dad to the rescue!! Bill finally got to see Kyra back on campus after the police dropped her back, and she ran to him and gave him the biggest hug."

You can view KIRO's video report and interview with Steinkirchner here.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

No, it's not a scene from a new 'Dirty Harry' movie: Real-life suspected car burglars caught on video running from cops across San Francisco freeway



The legendary "Dirty Harry" movie franchise is famous for a number of things, among them iconic actor Clint Eastwood and his portrayal of the lone-wolf, take-no-prisoners inspector, his .44 Magnum handgun, and elaborate foot chases amid a San Francisco backdrop.

Well, what was caught on video earlier this month on a Frisco freeway likely would make for a nifty scene in a "Dirty Harry" flick — if not for the fact that it was quite real. All that was missing was Clint and his hand-held cannon.

What happened?

A tow truck driver on southbound Highway 101 captured on cellphone video a crazy foot chase involving plainclothes San Francisco police officers and suspects in a string of vehicle burglaries, KGO-TV reported.

Image source: KGO-TV video screenshot

In the clip, the driver can be heard shouting, "You got 'em! You got 'em! You got 'em!" as one masked suspect — dressed in a dark hoodie and dark clothing — runs right past his truck while Trisha Yearwood's 1998 hit "How Do I Live Without You" plays on the radio, the station said.

Image source: KGO-TV video screenshot

That suspect had already evaded at least four cops as he scampered across four lanes of traffic.

Image source: KGO-TV video screenshot

Seconds before, another suspect is seen tripping and falling as he runs toward a highway barrier, after which a cop easily wraps him up.

Image source: KGO-TV video screenshot

Police were performing citywide auto burglary and robbery abatement operations Nov. 11, SFGate reported. Police that day also got at least six calls in a three-hour period related to the same getaway vehicle, KGO said.

Officers just after 3 p.m. spotted a vehicle matching descriptions they were given in the area of Market and Octavia Streets and followed it as the driver turned on to southbound 101, SFGate reported.

The driver soon pulled over on the freeway shoulder, after which all three occupants got out and ran, SFGate added. One of them had a gun, KGO noted.

Police put on their running shoes, too.

The suspect with the gun threw the weapon on the ground during the foot chase, police told SFGate, adding that police recovered it.

"I was like, 'Damn, something is going down!" the tow truck driver told KGO.

You gotta ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?

In the end, three suspects were arrested — and right on the freeway, the KGO said.

One of them is an unnamed 17-year-old, KGO reported. Then there are two adults:

  • Jonathan Joseph Caruso faces charges including auto burglary, possession of stolen property, and resisting arrest, the station said. Caruso also had a warrant against him out of Pittsburg, KGO said.
  • Angel Herrera was booked for driving a stolen vehicle and other charges related to auto burglaries and possessing stolen property, KGO said.

The adults were booked into county jail, SFGate reported, and the juvenile was released to his mother.

Criminal heyday: Chicago Police Dept. ends foot chases for low-level offenses



After only about two months of serious deliberation, the Chicago Police Department on Wednesday unveiled a new policy that largely ends the practice of officers pursuing suspects on foot.

Under the new policy, set in motion following the recent police shootings of 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez, officers are not permitted to chase individuals suspected of committing a minor traffic offense or low-level misdemeanor unless that individual poses an "obvious threat" to the community.

The policy also urges officers to seek ways to avoid foot chases altogether, directing them to perhaps set up a perimeter, conduct surveillance, or consider whether the suspect could be apprehended at another time or place.

Ultimately, officers will be forced — in the heat of the moment — to weigh the potential risk to public safety against the need for immediate apprehension.

"Officers must ask themselves if the need to apprehend the subject is worth the risk to the responding officers, the public, or the offender," CPD Superintendent David Brown said during a news conference Wednesday.

"This [will] give officers an opportunity, maybe to slow things down and have a better outcome when they're trying to capture suspects," he added. "That is the intent of a foot pursuit policy, you know ... let's use de-escalation, let's set up a perimeter if need be. Let's choose the right place to capture him and the right time to capture him or her."

As if that wasn't enough already to consider when deciding whether or not to pursue a suspect on foot, officers are also instructed to discontinue ongoing foot chases if they become separated from their partner, are unaware of their location, someone is injured, if there is excessive distance or nearby obstacles preventing an apprehension, or if they will not be able to control the subject of the chase in a confrontation.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who led the charge for foot chase reform following Toledo's and Alvarez's deaths, praised the new policy as "a step forward in our mission to modernize and reform our police department."

But critics are calling the policy an overreaction that will inevitably empower criminals and lead to more crime on the streets.

Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara noted that "Chicago recovers more weapons than New York and [Los Angeles] combined" and that "most of those weapons are recovered either as the result of a vehicle stop or a foot chase."

In April, Lightfoot even acknowledged the potential danger that could result from such a policy, saying, "I don't want people out there who are dangerous to think, 'Well, if I just run, then I'm safe, and I can continue to wreak havoc' ... We can't live in that world either."

The guidance released Wednesday will serve as an "interim" policy that will go into effect June 11, after which, the public and an independent monitor will weigh in.