Riverdale man facing charges after chase with police in northwest Indiana

A Riverdale man is facing charges after leading police on a chase Saturday morning in northwest Indiana.

About 10:15 a.m., a trooper responded to a call of a male acting disorderly and leaving a store with unpaid merchandise at a truck stop on State Road 10 in Demotte, according to Indiana State Police.

After being given a description of the suspect, the trooper saw a Nissan Altima with an Illinois license plate on the shoulder of State Road 10 near Interstate 65, state police said. The Altima had its emergency flashers on, and a female passenger told the trooper that the vehicle had run out of gas.

While talking to the female, the trooper saw 26-year-old John R. Ratliff throw a water bottle into a field as he walked toward the Altima, state police said. Ratliff became confrotational with the trooper as he gassed up the Altima.

After a Jasper County Sheriff’s Office deputy and more troopers showed up, Ratliff sped off in the Altima on State Road 10 to northbound I-65, state police said. Police stopped pursuing the Altima due to Ratliff’s “reckless driving and unsafe speeds.”

A trooper who was sitting in his vehicle in a northbound lane of I-65 near mile marker 237 was ultimately able to use his stop sticks to deflate three of the Altima’s tires, state police said.

After the Altima was brought to a stop, Ratliff jumped out and ran east into an open field, state police said. A group of troopers then used a canine partner to draw Ratliff from the field. He ultimately complied with the troopers’ orders after seeing the dog.

Ratliff became “irate and uncooperative” while he was being held in a police cruiser and attempted to bite the door frame, state police said. He was taken to Jasper County Jail, where he was charged with resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, reckless driving with endangerment and unsafe lane movement and littering.