Sheriff’s deputies in Houston tried pulling over a slow-rolling semi-truck on the interstate, but the driver refused to comply. Little did everyone realize this was about to turn into a tense hours-long standoff between law enforcement and the truck driver, ending in a spectacular scene like something out of an action movie.
A truck crash leads to a bee attack.
When local news first started broadcasting aerial footage of the standoff, we can see two things going on. First, a Bearcat was sitting nose-to-nose with the semi. One member of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was standing up through the roof hatch as he’s looking through his rifle’s scope. It looks like there might be a bullet hole in the windshield, although we don’t know if that’s from law enforcement or the suspect.
The second thing we see is the robot on the passenger side of the semi. It appears to be trying to get video of the inside of the cab. You also might note the front passenger tire is shredded, we’re assuming thanks to spike strips deployed by deputies. The first rear tire on the passenger side is flat, the wheel spinning uselessly inside.
As the situation unfolds, the news anchor says the semi was stolen. Perhaps the suspect doesn’t know how to drive it any faster and still thinks he’s going to get away by continuing to press the accelerator. It’s bizarre for sure.
Upon the robot retreating from the truck, we see an armored Rook approach, which is somewhat like an armored Bobcat with all kinds of possible attachments suited for different tactical maneuvers. This Rook has a battering ram attachment which the operator immediately uses to punch out the rear window in the cab. SWAT members use the opening created to throw what appears to be a smoke grenade inside.
After a moment of the suspect getting smoked, the Rook tore off the passenger door, then tore into the semi’s bunk. Finally, a K9 was sent into the cab to subdue the suspect with its legendary chomping action. So it was a combination of cutting-edge tech and more old school methods used to bring this standoff to a relatively peaceful resolution. We honestly feel better about this than the creepy robot police dogs.
Images via YouTube