On Thursday, the Richmond Police Department announced the arrest of a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” who refused to stop for officers, leading to a brief standoff.
The incident began just before 5:00 am when a Richmond Police Sergeant saw a vehicle driving erratically in the heavy morning commute traffic. They attempted to stop the car, but the driver refused to stop. The driver continued to drive at slow speeds, stopping several times to declare he was a sovereign citizen who did not recognize our authority to stop him. The driver ultimately decided to drive to the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza area, where he stopped in the middle of the merge, optimizing the havoc he could wreak on the morning commute.
Richmond Police said a drone team was on scene to assist in determining the driver was the sole occupant. After negotiations with the suspect to exit his vehicle failed, officers were able to introduce a chemical agent into the interior of his car. The driver quickly decided he wanted he wanted to get out of his vehicle and was taken into custody without incident.
Police were able to quickly reopen the freeway and tow his vehicle. He was arrested for attempting to evade officers, suspected DUI, and an outstanding warrant from a previous case where he ran from police in a vehicle.
No other information was released.
