‘I gotta stop this guy before he hurts a little kid,’ Civilian stands in street to end motorcycle chase

CHICKASHA, Okla. — A high-speed motorcycle chase came to an end when a concerned citizen took matters into his own hands.  It was an intense game of chicken in Chickasha, where a Kansas man named Floyd Briggs came out on top.

The chase began near 8th and Iowa, and ended across the street from Briggs.  Police had pursued a motorcycle for some time, as the driver, Michael Coppedge, weaved through city streets and alleys.

“I said ‘I gotta stop this guy before he hurts a little kid,’” Chickasha resident Floyd Briggs told KFOR-TV. “I ain’t no football player either.”

 But in a matter of seconds, the man on the run was on his back. Briggs stood in the street, causing Coppedge to swerve around him and lose control of his bike.

“And he laid that bike over about here, and slid all the way to that pickup,” Briggs said. “He got up, run around that fence right there, and I just went after him.”

“I was running out of steam very quick. I’m not very aerodynamic,” Briggs noted.

But Briggs managed to chase Coppedge right into the waiting arms of Chickasha Police, ending in his arrest.

Coppedge says the only reason he was running was because he didn’t have a license and/or insurance.

“That’s not a serious thing right there… you get a ticket, slap on the hand, pay your fine, and go fix your problem,” Briggs said.

But for neighbors that caught this camouflaged cavalier in action, he’s got a message.

“I did use some language that just isn’t how I talk…Some of the words I used, I was pretty worked up. I’m sorry for that,” Briggs said.

An overall happy ending as no one was seriously injured in the chase.

Coppedge was released Monday afternoon, facing charges of eluding a police officer, and leaving the scene of an accident involving damage.