Pair Attempts To Flee Portage Police Before Stopping and Threatening Officers
On 12/15/24 at approximately 8:15 PM, Portage Officers observed a vehicle performing burn outs in a parking lot near Willowcreek Middle School, according to a police report.
The vehicle in question then began traveling westbound on Evergreen and disregarded a stop sign. Police attempted to stop the Chevy Cruz but it began to accelerate at a high rate of speed and turned westbound on Central, disregarding numerous stop signs again. The driver then came to a stop at Evergreen & Fern after the brief pursuit.
Officers approached the vehicle and observed a female driver identified as Rachel Kaufman (20) and a male passenger sitting behind the driver identified as Thomas Kaufman (20), both from Portage. Rachel was asked what she was doing and she stated, “I know my rights.” Officers asked Rachel why she did not come to a stop when she saw the emergency lights and she stated, “I don’t have to answer you.” The pair was asked to step out of the car but Thomas refused to get out of the vehicle by pulling away from officers and Rachel began to yell and pulled away from officers as well. While trying to place Rachel in handcuffs, she continued to pull away from officers and stated, “I’m a f kill you, my boyfriend is going to kill you guys!”
After a brief struggle securing both Rachel and Thomas in handcuffs, they were placed in police cars. While in the back Rachel told officers there was a bottle of alcohol and gummies inside the vehicle. Rachel stated they belonged to her and not Thomas. Officers located a half full 750 ml of Woodinville Bourbon Whiskey in the back seat of the passenger seat and an unopened white bag labeled “PC Pure, THC infused gummies.”
Thomas was transported to Porter County Jail for:
Resisting Law Enforcement (A Misd),
Minor Consumption of Alcohol(C Misd)
Possession of Marijuana (B Misd).
Rachel was transported to the Portage Police Department for Standardized Field Sobriety Tests where she provided a sample with a result of .035 grams alcohol per 210 liters of breath, according to the report. Rachel was transported to Porter County Jail for the charges of:
Resisting Law Enforcement with a Motor Vehicle (Lvl 6)
Intimidation (Lvl 6)
Resisting Law Enforcement (A Misd)
Possession of Marijuana (B Misd)
Minor Consumption of Alcohol (C Misd)
