Dramatic footage shows Porsche 911 GTS thief tasered at wheel and dragged from car
A Porsche thief has been jailed for more than a year after a dramatic police pursuit in the West Midlands which saw him tasered at the wheel.
Staffordshire Police alerted West Midlands Police to a car key burglary at around 4.15pm on January 25 in which a race-prepared Porsche 911 GTS was taken.
Road cameras had picked up the car heading south towards Birmingham and traffic patrols later spotted it near Moor Street station in the city centre.
The high performance car sped away and shot through a red light.
But the driver Lee Smythe soon found out rear wheel drive Porsches don’t handle too well on snowy, icy January roads.
He span the car while speeding round a traffic island – which allowed patrols to box the 34-year-old in and taser him at the wheel, as he tried ramming his way out.
Smythe, from Stratford Road in Birmingham, went on to admit aggravated vehicle taking, dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, and firearms possession – because police found him with a can of pepper spray which is classed as a firearm in UK law.
He appeared at Birmingham Crown Court on February 25, and was jailed for a total of 16 months.
The judge also banned him from the roads for three years and eight months and he must pass an extended retest to get his licence back in the future.
PC Rich Storer from the force's traffic unit was involved in the arrest.
He said: “Smythe lost control of the Porsche on the slippery surface and was fortunate not to collide with other road users.
“We knew we had to stop him quickly as he was an accident waiting to happen.
"We used some tactical contact to box him in and were able to swiftly get him in handcuffs.
“It was a good job – to have him locked up little more than two hours after the Porsche was reported stolen was a great effort.”
