Taking part in a Sept. 29 press conference at the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office are, from left, Cornell Police officers Sgt. Robert MacHenry, Capt. Randall Hausner and Lt. Michael Blenman and Tompkins County Sheriff Peter Meskill. MacHenry and Blenman were being recognized for chasing and apprehending a bank robbery suspect that day. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography
Two Cornell Police officers were credited with "great police work" Sept. 29 after they chased and apprehended an armed man a half hour after he allegedly robbed a bank on Pine Tree Road near East Hill Plaza in Ithaca.
Lt. Michael Blenman and Sgt. Robert MacHenry were praised at a news conference a few hours after the incident by Tompkins County Sheriff Peter J. Meskill, who said the arrest was the result of "cooperation and communication" between public safety providers in the county.
Blenman and MacHenry, both 17-year veterans of Cornell Police, were participating in a training exercise at the Ithaca police range off Route 79 at 10:09 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, when a 911 call alerted the sheriff's department that an armed robbery had just occurred at the HSBC Bank on Pine Tree Road. Sheriff's deputies and Cornell and Ithaca police rushed to the scene and radioed a description of the suspect, a white male wearing tan pants and a white shirt, who was reportedly driving a late model red/maroon Ford Mustang.
In their patrol car on Route 79, Blenman and MacHenry spotted a vehicle that matched the description and stopped it about three-quarters of a mile east of Burns Road. As they approached the Mustang, it took off heading east at a high rate of speed, police reported. The Cornell officers pursued the car in their vehicle.
The suspect then lost control of the Mustang and drove into a ditch at the intersection of Hurd and Midline roads in Dryden. He then fled on foot, uphill, until he was apprehended and surrendered to Blenman, who took him into custody.
The suspect, David A. Sipe, 28, of Charlotte, N.C., was charged with first degree robbery. Investigators recovered items including $6,000 in cash and a loaded .38-caliber revolver from the Mustang.
"This is a reflection of the teamwork and an outstanding example of a timely and comprehensive police response," said State Police Capt. Gary Shiffer at the news conference announcing Sipe's arrest.
Capt. Randall Hausner of Cornell Police added that he and his fellow officers were "very proud" to have participated in the team response to the armed robbery.
Asked how he felt after the high-speed car-and-foot chase that resulted in Sipe's capture, Blenman smiled and said, "I just felt very tired."
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