The Grappler Bumper has yet again been successfully used by police, this time in Glendale, Arizona. While we have seen at least one case where the device didn’t end a police chase in a more peaceful fashion than a PIT maneuver, in this and others it’s functioned as designed to prevent further carnage.
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The suspect, 35-year-old Alberto Jaquez Rojas, was allegedly caught on surveillance footage ramming the gates at a Glendale Police station not once but twice. The shockingly brazen incidents happened about a month apart from each other, so police were interested to know who was attacking their home turf.
They found on the morning of March 20 after a rather distinct truck driven by Rojas slammed into the police station gate, then took off. You can see in footage taken by cameras put up by the city how the man drives recklessly as he takes off.
The Glendale Police Department Real Time Crime Center was able to locate the suspect vehicle and track it. Eventually, police caught up with the guy as he turned into traffic and tried blending in.
Normally, the Ford F-150 Rojas was driving would just disappear in the crowd since there are so many trucks which look just like it. But his ride has some interesting geometric design that might be a wrap on the quarter panels, making it stick out like a sore thumb.
Surely that helped police track him down more easily. One of the cruisers eventually got behind him and deployed its Grappler Bumper, the webbing wrapping around the rear driver-side tire, allowing the officer to slow down and stop Rojas from driving farther.
That happened so subtly that in the video you don’t notice it from the traffic cam portion.
Police were able to chase Rojas down on foot, a K9 reaching him first, letting the guy know what a chew toy must feel like. Why he decided to ram the police station gate is a mystery, but we’re going to venture a guess he’s not backing the blue.
Image via Glendale Police Department – Arizona/Facebook