What began as a traffic stop on San Antonio’s West Side turned into more than an hour of sirens and near misses Sunday night, ending in a tense parking-lot standoff on Marbach Road, according to police.
San Antonio police say a 41-year-old man took off from the stop and led officers on a rolling pursuit that wrapped up around 10 p.m. He was booked on allegations that include aggravated assault on a police officer, evading arrest in a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. Officers reported using spike strips during the chase and said the driver put up a fight after refusing to get out of his vehicle. Police said no officers needed to be hospitalized.
How the chase unfolded
According to KSAT, the pursuit started when the man fled a traffic stop conducted by SAPD’s DWI unit. The department’s Street Crimes unit soon joined in near Loop 410 and Vance Jackson Road.
An officer at the arrest scene told KSAT the driver “drove around a couple (of) neighborhoods” during the chase while officers deployed tire deflation devices. Even with damaged tires, the vehicle continued along Marbach Road for several minutes and at one point slipped free after being pinned by multiple patrol units, the station reported.
Police say the vehicle finally came to a stop in a parking spot. The man refused to get out, according to officers, who said they broke the vehicle’s glass to pull him from the driver’s seat. He then struggled with officers “for several minutes” before they were able to handcuff him.
What the charges mean
Using a vehicle while fleeing officers can raise an evading arrest allegation to a state jail or higher-level felony under Texas law, according to Texas Penal Code § 38.04. Resisting arrest, which applies when someone uses force to prevent an officer from making an arrest, is typically a Class A misdemeanor unless a deadly weapon is involved, according to a summary of § 38.03. Aggravated assault, the count tied to the allegation that the suspect assaulted an officer, carries felony-level penalties under Texas Penal Code § 22.02.
Why pursuits are limited
SAPD policy generally limits high-speed pursuits to serious, usually violent felonies and instructs supervisors to weigh the danger to the public before allowing a chase to continue, local reporting has noted. As the Express-News has detailed, department reviews in past years tallied hundreds of pursuits across the city along with a high rate of crashes and property damage. Those findings helped spur tighter pursuit rules and more supervisory oversight.
SAPD had not released the suspect’s name or said whether prosecutors had formally filed charges as of Monday morning. KSAT reports investigators are still collecting evidence and the department has given only limited public comment. Bexar County booking and charging decisions are expected to follow once detectives complete their investigation.
