Chico police arrested a man this afternoon after a standoff that lasted more than 30 minutes.

The suspect’s car was penned in by police SUVs at the corner of Fifth and Hazel streets after a low-speed chase through South Campus. The suspect refused to leave his car, which led to police breaking the passenger-side window and firing a pepper canister. 

The suspect still refused to leave the vehicle, while revving his engine, which eventually led four police officers, one with a riot shield and one with a police dog on a leash, to force him out of the vehicle.

The police originally pulled the vehicle over after receiving multiple reports of reckless driving by the suspect. One person reported that the vehicle attempted to run them over, according to Chico Police Lt. Dane Gregory. 

The suspect failed to yield to police officers upon the initial attempt to pull him over. They then deployed spike strips, Gregory said. 

After a short chase where the suspect’s front end was dragging on the pavement due to flat tires, police were able to box him in with several vehicles. They repeatedly attempted to convince the suspect to leave the vehicle by communicating with a megaphone. 

Before breaching the vehicle, a police dog was allowed to charge the passenger door repeatedly while on a leash in what appeared to be an attempt to scare the individual out.

The police decide when to breach a vehicle in this type of situation based on the entirety of the public safety concerns at hand, Gregory said.

“We gave him ample warning,” he said. “We made the decision to utilize some of our less lethal options to take him into custody.” 

Throughout the standoff, officers tried to encourage curious students, many from a party at the nearby Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house, to move farther from the scene.

Their efforts were largely unsuccessful.

Party-goers took to the sidewalk, the porch and the balcony of the fraternity to see the scene unfold. They blasted “Bad Boys” by Inner Circle and cheered on the officers once the suspect was arrested.

Sean Shanks and Nadia Hill can be reached at [email protected]