Deputies shoot out windows to end chase

ALPINE, Calif. – Officers shot out the windows of a car with less-lethal force and flattened its tires before arresting the driver after a pursuit and standoff in Alpine overnight Monday. 

 

The chase began at around 11:30 p.m. when San Diego County Sheriff’s deputies tried to pull over a car for a traffic violation. The driver refused to stop and a low-speed chase ensued over a distance five to seven miles. Deputies said the man was making suicidal threats to 911 dispatchers throughout the incident.  

 

The pursuit ended when deputies and California Highway Patrol officers deployed spike strips, shredding three of the tires at Arnold Way and South Grade Road. 

 

Officers and deputies approached the car, but the driver refused to surrender. He then tried to drive away, but smashed into a pole, Lyyjoki said. Officers shot out the car’s windows with less-lethal force, hitting the suspect in the process. 

 

"With his failure to communicate with us and be willing to get out of the car, that's when we used the less-lethal to gain his compliance,” Sgt. Rey Lyyjoki told 10News. “And we had to go hands-on to remove him from the vehicle."

 

He was dragged out of his car, apprehended and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment for the injuries he sustained from the less-lethal force. He will also undergo a mental evaluation. 

 

It was not clear if he would face any charges.