Dramatic video emerges after officer injured apprehending drugged suspect who fled onto 91 Freeway
RIVERSIDE, Calif., — Dramatic cellphone footage of a foot chase across the 91 Freeway in Riverside has emerged after a man high on drugs fled from and then fought with an officer afternoon, Monday afternoon, March 14.
Although the officer sustained minor injuries in the man’s apprehension, he was treated at the scene by paramedics and did not require hospitalization.
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City of Riverside police officers were dispatched to a gas station at the intersection of La Sierra and Indiana avenues around 3:40 p.m. regarding the report of a man who was seen acting erratically and causing a disturbance.
Paramedics who had already responded to the area reported finding a man who was allegedly high on methamphetamine and PCP and was having trouble breathing, at which time officers were requested to assist.
A series of screenshots pulled from cellphone footage that was later shared to social media showed that even though a fleeing man threw a backpack into the path of a pursuing officer causing him to stumble and fall, the officer still managed to tackle the fleeing suspect. Harley Hernandez / Facebook video images
When officers arrived, the man, whose name was not immediately available, fled from the gas station where he began banging on passing vehicles and trying to jump through the windows of motorists driving through the area.
According to witnesses, the man then ran into oncoming traffic along the 91 Freeway and was seen running between vehicles passing by at highway speeds.
Cellphone footage captured by a passing motorist showed that just as a pursuing officer was about to catch up with the fleeing man in the freeway’s carpool lanes, he threw a backpack directly in front of the running officer, causing him to stumble and begin falling.
As he fell, the officer managed to lunge forward and grab the running man’s legs, knocking him onto the roadway.
As the video continues, the man can be seen fighting with the officer as other officers can be seen running onto the freeway from the other side of the highway to help apprehend the violent subject.
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A City of Riverside Fire Captain later said the officer was injured during the altercation, but his unspecified injuries were minor and he did not require further treatment.
No other citizens or officers were injured during the incident, and traffic returned to normal shortly after the arrest was made.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS), which act as stringer-news providers for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.