911 recording shows how Michigan dispatcher calmly gets man to end high-speed police chase

4/20/2012

DETROIT — A 911 recording shows how a western Michigan emergency dispatcher was able to calmly persuade an agitated man to pull over and end police's high-speed pursuit of him.

Six police cars chased Luis Bonilla-Machado through Holland and into Allegan County on Feb. 28.

But after an 8-minute chat with Allegan Central dispatcher Tammy Gane, the 25-year-old Holland resident agreed to slow down and eventually surrender.

Holland police Capt. Jack Dykstra credits Gane's "calm voice and reason" for peacefully ending what could have been a disastrous end to the chase, which reached speeds of 80 miles per hour.

The Associated Press obtained the 911 call via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Bonilla-Machado pleaded to fleeing and eluding and cocaine possession and faces jail time when he's sentenced on April 30.