NATCHEZ &045; Tuesday’s police pursuit down Main Street was as controlled as it could be, Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

Some witnesses said Wednesday they felt the police car and the car being chased were traveling at dangerously high speeds through downtown. But Mullins said the chase was not classified as a high-speed chase.

&uot;The definition of low speed could be argued,&uot; he said. &uot;We aren’t saying it was 5 or 10 mph. We are just saying it wasn’t 70 mph.

&uot;When you have a car that comes by you, your perception may be that it’s going faster than it is.&uot;

The officer involved in the chase that resulted in an arrest on Canal Street did what he was supposed to do, Mullins said.

&uot;He had the siren on so people would know to move and get out of the way,&uot; Mullins said. &uot;The officer backed off of him as soon as he saw that he was not going to stop. He didn’t back off to leave him alone, but he didn’t push to make him go faster.&uot;

Mullins said the speed of the police car varied during the chase of the red Lincoln, which started on Homochitto Street and ended in the gravel parking lot across from the Convention Center. The officer was traveling at less than 50 mph in the heaviest populated areas, he said.

The officer’s speed slowed when he approached Main Street and the downtown area, Mullins said, but it was still a dangerous situation.

&uot;(People in the area) are in danger,&uot; he said. &uot;That suspect endangered a lot of people. That’s why we backed off. But certainly there was a lot of danger. He struck a vehicle and struck a building.&uot;

Mullins said the blaring siren served its purpose of alerting people to the situation.

The driver of a van struck by the red Lincoln was taken to the hospital with complaints of neck pain. She was released later that day and was recovering at home Wednesday.

The chase started when the driver of the red Lincoln, Michael Woods passed another vehicle near the Malt Shop on Homochitto and forced the officer off the road.

The officer followed him onto Orleans Street to Washington Street, where he ran a stop sign. It became obvious he was not going to stop, so the officer turned on his lights and sirens.

The two cars continued onto Main Street, where the van was hit, across on Pearl Street, down Jefferson Street and onto Canal Street.

Woods attempted to turn around in the gravel lot and hit a building. The initial officer had radioed ahead for other officers by this time, and they blocked his exits from the lot. Woods exited his car on foot and led one officer on a short foot chase. He was apprehended, but an officer was injured during the chase.

Woods was charged with felony eluding a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving under suspension, no insurance, expired tag, running a red light and resisting arrest.

Two witnesses who estimated high speeds did not want to be quoted.