Agonizing Law Enforcement Decision: To Chase or Not to Chase

October 1981 at 2:30 a.m. on Highway 441 north of Milledgeville, GA, I noticed an older Camaro speeding up and slowing down in front of me. It would accelerate to speeds up to 70 or 80 mph and then slow down to around 20 or so. 

On the last slowdown, I turned on my lights and siren. At this point, a beer bottle came flying out the driver's side window and knocked out my left headlight. 

Instead of pulling over, the Camaro accelerated to speeds in excess of 100 mph. I chose to pursue as traffic was very light and the road was well maintained and well known to me. 

I called my dispatcher and asked them to notify the Eatonton police to set up a roadblock at their city limits. As we approached the city limits of Eatonton, I could see they had three cars across the roadway with a drive-around. 

I backed off and the Camaro accelerated even more and then made a decision to go around the block. At this point, the driver lost control of the vehicle and spun out, coming to a stop about 50 or so feet in front of the police cars. In addition, the engine compartment of the Camaro was smoking and the car was no longer running.

The procedure from this point on is what's known as a "felony take-down." This means that you must presume that extreme danger is still present and you approach the vehicle and suspects using much caution. 

The driver and what looked like three other passengers were shifting around in their seats and their hands were flailing about. I had a lot of adrenaline pumping through my system and deliberately kept my finger off the trigger of the S&W 686 for fear that my nerves could cause an involuntary or "uncommanded" pull of the trigger. 

They refused to heed instructions over the PA system and remained in the vehicle.  At this point, we had the vehicle surrounded and it was immobile. 

The above are the facts of the case. How should it have been handled? Was I wrong for pursuing? After the vehicle was stopped, how should I and the others on the scene have proceeded?

State your opinions and after you have, I will then tell you how I handled it and how it turned out. All comments are both welcome and appreciated, even those with flames attached.