Three suspects were arrested after a short vehicle pursuit in Houston that started around midnight. During the pursuit, which lasted about fifteen minutes, the driver intentionally rammed officers’ patrol vehicles and was shot by a police officer after he brandished a weapon as he fled on foot.
According to Assistant Chief Bashir of the Houston Police Department, a “Hotspot” unit observed a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed and initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle, a Ford Raptor pickup truck at the North Freeway and Little York intersection.
The vehicle stopped and the officers gave verbal commands to the driver. The suspect refused to comply and sped away from the scene, and the vehicle pursuit started.
The pursuit according to Assistant Chief Bashir, lasted about fifteen minutes. During this brief pursuit, the suspect came to a complete stop two different times, put the vehicle in reverse, and rammed the officer’s vehicle. Police also attempted PIT maneuvers a couple of times but were not successful.
Eventually, the suspect’s vehicle to a stop in the 700 block of West Mount Houston near the North Freeway, because of traffic. At this point, officers realized there were three different individuals in the vehicle, not just one as initially thought. Two of these fled on foot and officers were able to capture both of them almost right away.
The driver, a Hispanic male, however, according to Assistant Chief Bashir, got out with a weapon in his hand. As he ran away, one of the officers engaged the suspect and discharged his weapon more than once. Multiple officers immediately provided first aid to save the suspect’s life and the suspect was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition.
The officer who discharged his firearm is a four-year veteran of the Houston Police Department and is part of the Hotspot Unit. He will be placed on administrative leave, per policy as the investigation is conducted.
A gun was recovered at the scene, and another one was found in the suspect’s vehicle according to Assistant Chief Bashir. No officers were injured.
