James Brown's Fourteen Police Car Chase

Happy Monday! Today's subject is and icon in his own right and known as the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. We're focusing more specifically on the police car chase that he was involved in during autumn 1988.

Warning: This post contains mentions of police brutality, drug use, and general violence. Please read at your own discretion, but if this isn't your cup of tea, I have more posts you may be interested in.

James Brown's 1988 mug shot

In 2007, the FBI released a file where James Brown and his wife at the time, Adrienne Rodriguez, told their side of the story of Brown's 1988 car chase. In the file, Brown alleges police brutality and that he had feared for his life. So, what actually happened?

On September 24, 1988, in Savannah, Georgia, James Brown barged into an insurance office close to his office during an insurance seminar with a shotgun. He had accused participants at the seminar of using the bathroom in his office. According to a drug test later that day, Brown may have been high on PCP when the event occurred. From my research it is unclear if the police were called on him due to his outburst or later when he sped off in his truck.

It is reported that Brown sped off in his pickup truck and was pursued by police down highway 20 across the South Carolina, making it a two-state car chase. The chase involved numerous vehicles and the chase reached up to 60-85 miles per hour. Now it became a two-state high speed car chase. The police attempted a roadblock with two cars in a v formation, but Brown drove around the cars, trying to avoid hitting the vehicles, though the officers at the scene reported that he tried to hit them.

James Brown, 1980

Brown pulled into a parking lot, most likely with the intention to talk to police and de-escalate the situation, but when officers began firing at his truck, he sped off again. His two front tires were shot out, and officers reported at least nine shots taken, though later Brown counted twenty-three bullets in his truck. He claimed he had feared for his life. Any one of those bullets could have infiltrated his gas tank and ignited the car, killing Brown.

With the two front tires shot out, Brown drove on the rims for about six miles across the Savannah River back into Georgia before his truck ended up in a ditch in Augusta. Allegedly, at this point this chase involved fourteen vehicles. When police pulled Brown from his truck, he alleges that they had slammed him against the truck causing injury to his face and body. He then says that while handcuffed at the station, an officer punched him so hard it knocked out his tooth implants.

Despite my own feelings about police brutality in this country, I feel it pertinent to include context that this was not Brown's first run in with the law. Not to condone what the police did - or didn't do. Just to add more context. The year prior to this arrest, he was arrested on several more charges including domestic violence. That still doesn't mean the police should have treated him the way they had. Even if he was armed in the truck, I do think twenty-three shots into his truck is excessive, but I digress. Plain and simple if Brown's claims are true what the police did was wrong. The FBI did allegedly do an investigation but found no fault of the police. No one was surprised. 

After the arrest, Brown was sentenced to six years in prison but only served two of his sentences. I read briefly that he was arrested a decade later on similar charges but could not find much information on that arrest.

There is a video of Brown talking about the pursuit a year later which I found interesting. I found this whole story compelling. The chase was dramatized in the 2014 biopic, Get On Up where Brown was played by the late great Chadwick Boseman. I do recommend the film if you're interested.

If you found this as interesting as I did, let me know! If you'd like me to research and write about anything in history, feel free to comment!