FAIR GAME:

It was a crisp Thursday afternoon.

My partner Gannon and I were on patrol in the Triangle Square area.

My name is Friday.

I hit the remote.

One-Adam 12, One-Adam 12, come in.

Anyway, that’s what it felt like as I exited the Triangle Square parking lot following a lunch meeting Thursday at the Yardhouse.

Doughnuts, incidentally, weren’t on the menu.

As I came to the exit out onto Newport Boulevard, we were greeted by a local Costa Mesa police cruiser, with lights flashing, parked in the center of the intersection.

The officer stood outside the car behind his open door, watching the movements of what appeared to be a late model, light brown Toyota 4-Runner.

Behind the 4-Runner were several other squad cars with their lights also flashing.

The 4-Runner began to roll.

All officers were in pursuit.

Suddenly, my light turned green, and I found myself at the tail-end of my first police chase ever.

After spending I don’t know how many nights watching live police chases on the evening news, I was now witness to one.

I’ll be honest, it’s interesting the thoughts that run through your mind. Will it end in a crash? Does the driver have a gun? What must he be thinking?

The 4-Runner ran the red light at 19th Street and Newport Boulevard, heading to the 55 Freeway. Lucky him, he gets that snapshot — with ticket violation — showing him behind the wheel.

Love those cameras.

Anyway, he continued down the Newport Boulevard frontage road paralleling the 55.

The chase wasn’t long, and it was never fast.

Sort of like O.J. in the back of the white Bronco.

Everything came to an end several blocks later next to the Stater Bros. Market.

As we rolled into the store’s parking lot with our reporter blood running through the veins, cellphone camera in hand, there were police cars and officers everywhere.

Overhead, the police helicopter circled.

The suspect, an elderly gentlemen, was peacefully removed from his 4-Runner and taken to a nearby squad car for questioning.

He appeared somewhat dazed and confused. “Perhaps it’s a medical condition,” one officer said.

As quickly as my first police chase had begun, it was just as quickly over.

In our follow-up investigation later that afternoon, the full story came out.

It was sad.

The driver had apparently hit a police car earlier and then continued to drive, disoriented.

Other officers joined in the pursuit.

But, as the one officer had told me earlier it did indeed turn out to be a man suffering from a medical condition. He was taken to Hoag Hospital.

Honestly, though, I have to commend our local police department.

Even though this one turned out to be someone sick, the officers themselves don’t know what they’ll find at the end. They are brave day-in and day-out for our protection.

But as I witnessed, they certainly appeared to be up to the task.

The good news, no charges were filed against the driver.

TOM JOHNSON is the publisher. Send story ideas to [email protected].