Suspect dead after crash as Riverside County deputies deploy Grappler during pursuit
Riverside County deputies were in pursuit of a possibly armed driver in the Inland Empire on Wednesday afternoon when the suspect crashed into a wall after they deployed their pursuit-ending tool known as "The Grappler."
The chase began when deputies spotted a suspect wanted for grand theft driving near Pats Ranch Road and Limonite Avenue at around 2 p.m., Riverside County Sheriff's Office officials said. Despite the suspect briefly driving away from the area, deputies relocated him a short distance away near Limonite Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard.
When he failed to stop, a pursuit began.
At some point during the chase, the suspect called 911 and told the dispatcher that he was armed with a handgun. While traveling through Jurupa Valley, the suspect came to a stop at the intersection of Bellegrave Avenue and Etiwanda Avenue, near Jurupa Valley High School, where he refused to exit the vehicle. Dozens of Riverside and San Bernardino County deputies with their firearms drawn were seen behind more than a dozen patrol cars as the situation unfolded.
With SkyCal overhead, it appeared that the suspect had an object in his left hand while sitting in the front seat of the vehicle, a white Cadillac CT5.
The high school was placed on a temporary lockdown as a precaution, deputies said.
"Deputies gave commands to the suspect to surrender, but he failed to comply and again fled from deputies," a release from RSO said.
At around 3:20 p.m., the suspect took off again, closely followed by an RSO patrol vehicle that had its pursuit-ending Grappler tool deployed. Just seconds after a failed attempt to stop the suspect's vehicle, the tool then appeared to cause the suspect to lose control and crash into a brick wall just outside of a home in the 11000 block of Antigua Drive. The deputy's vehicle also lost control after the Grappler attempt, but did not crash.
Deputies told CBS LA that the suspect was still conscious after the crash and that he was still on 911 with the dispatcher.
A second SWAT BearCat arrived a short time later as law enforcement began to move in on the suspect to try and get him out of the vehicle.
Aerial footage showed severe front-end damage to the suspect's vehicle as a SWAT vehicle pulled in closely behind to stop the suspect. At times they were seen deploying what appeared to be tear gas at the front of the suspect's vehicle. They then used a pepper-ball launcher and a long-arm bang-pole tool to shatter the rear windshield of the vehicle, through which they dropped gas canisters.
Deputies were seen using both a remote-controlled robot and a drone as the standoff continued. Just before 6 p.m., deputies and SWAT personnel approached the car, shattered the passenger side window and pulled the bloody suspect from the car.
"After multiple attempts to negotiate a surrender, the suspect stopped all communication with deputies," the RSO release said. "Deputies from the Special Enforcement Bureau approached the vehicle and located the suspect suffering from injuries consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound."
He was pronounced dead at the scene by Riverside County Fire Department paramedics.
The suspect has not yet been identified.
Investigators asked anyone who may know more to contact them at (951) 955-2777.
