Belligerent Driver Pulled From Truck by Police

Carlsbad police used nunchakus, Mace and special cords to smash a pickup truck window and subdue a motorist who, officers said, led several squad cars on a chase around town and onto southbound Interstate 5.

Gregory Smith, 39, of Fallbrook was booked Sunday into County Jail in Vista on suspicion of resisting arrest with force, evading arrest, auto theft, receiving stolen property and hit-and-run driving, Carlsbad police Lt. Michael Shipley said.

Responding about 10:55 a.m. Sunday to a call of reckless driving in downtown Carlsbad, police tried to talk to the driver of a green pickup, Shipley said. The driver refused, started the truck and drove away, he said.

Officers pursued the truck for several blocks downtown before it headed south on I-5 at Elm Avenue, Shipley said. One of the truck’s tires blew out, he said.

While driving at 55 or 60 m.p.h. on three tires and one rim, the driver swerved from the far left lane across all of the freeway onto the southbound shoulder, forcing about a dozen members of a Caltrans crew to scatter, Shipley said. After crossing under the Palomar Airport Road overpass, the truck came to a stop, Shipley said.

The driver refused to open the door, so, while motorists from the Palomar Airport Road on-ramp to the highway watched, officers broke open a window using nunchakus, which are sticks commonly used in martial arts, Shipley said. The driver was dragged from the car, sprayed with Mace and bound, hands and feet, with the cords, Shipley said.

A motorist who watched from the on-ramp and asked to remain unidentified said it appeared that officers were beating the driver, not just the car or its windows. Shipley said there were no indications that officers used excessive force.

The driver was taken to Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside and cleared for booking in County Jail, Shipley said.