High-speed chase in Fresno ends with damaged police car and a fight with police dog
Fresno Police arrested a suspected car thief late Saturday after he rammed a police cruiser trying to evade capture and led officers on a high-speed chase that hit 100 miles per hour on highways 41 and 168 before ending in a residential neighborhood just south of Bulldog Stadium.
The driver ditched the stolen Chevrolet Tahoe and attempted to hide in backyards. Officers said he was captured after losing a fight with a police K-9.
“We had our MAGEC (Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium) tactical team out here, our patrol officers as well set up a quick perimeter,” Fresno Police Lt. Ignacio Ruiz said.
“He was seen moving by a CHP aircraft, moving within yards. He finally stayed put and hid there and did not come out. When the search team went to that location, they were able to locate the suspect hiding. He fought with our K-9 unit, and he was subsequently bit. He was treated and is now in custody.”
The incident started around 11 p.m. near East Pontiac Way and North Effie Street, where officers on patrol picked up the stolen vehicle and followed it to a motel on Blackstone Avenue.
They found the suspect in the parking lot, and when initiating a traffic stop, he drove past two police cars, hitting one of them before fleeing onto Highway 41.
“If he had stopped right there, which is all he had to do, none of this happens,” Ruiz said. “But we have a suspect that decides to flee and run and hide, and when that happens, we have no choice other than to make sure we’re safe, and the neighbors in this community are safe.
“The suspect will be OK. There’s going to be multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, which will be the suspect vehicle striking the patrol car, and also the stolen vehicle. There’s the auto theft, there’s the suspect fleeing from officers, resisting arrest, so those charges will be added as well.”
The officer in the patrol car that was struck was not injured, Ruiz said.
The CHP aircraft monitored the stolen vehicle as it fled at a high rate of speed before exiting the highway and slowing down into a residential neighborhood near 9th and Santa Ana.
“The suspect was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour, so what we did, we allowed the CHP aircraft to monitor it, while we had patrol units paralleling in the area and in the event that vehicle landed, we could set up a perimeter to search for any potential suspects,” Ruiz said. “It was just a safer way to handle the situation at that time.”
