ARLINGTON, Texas — For two hours Wednesday afternoon, all eyes were on the white sedan that 42-year-old Joe Gonzales was driving.
It all started when Fort Worth police pulled the car over around 2 p.m. at the intersection of Belknap Street and Sylvania Avenue as part of a narcotics surveillance operation. Police said the female driver got out and was cooperating when Gonzales hopped into the left seat and drove away.
He just kept driving east out of the city at a very slow rate of speed. Police said they were operating with knowledge that Gonzales might be armed.
Moving at a snail's pace, his eyes locked with our News 8 camera and he seemed to be dazed... soaking everything in. That included the many people of all walks of life who had come to watch the slow-speed spectacle.
"He was waving at us like he had a parade or something," said one witness who was caught in the traffic surrounding the pursuit.
At one point, Gonzales even calmly took a phone call, but his slow crawl didn't last. He started to pick up speed after 90 minutes, and his driving became more aggressive.
Police said their pursuit policy does not permit officers to pass and block a fleeing vehicle.
"Pulling in front of the vehicle presents numerous issues such as crossfire, having your back to a potentially armed suspect, and the ability for the fleeing vehicle to strike and injure the person in the blocking car," police spokesman Officer Daniel Segura said in a written statement.
"When I looked in my rear-view mirror, saw a little white four-door Nissan vehicle swerving through three lanes of traffic," said Joseph Olsen, another driver who witnessed the chase.
Leaving Interstate 30, Gonzales took a shortcut through a dirt lot trying to ditch police. He darted across a grass median, and went the wrong way to get back to the freeway.
When he finally got back on I-30 heading east, a Fort Worth SWAT armored vehicle stopped him with a swift pit maneuver, forcing him to spin into a median barrier and then into the side of the police vehicle.
The suspect in a two-hour police chase is taken into
The suspect in a two-hour police chase is taken into custody by police on Interstate 30 in Arlington. (Photo: Gary Ultee / WFAA)
At least seven SWAT team members quickly subdued the suspect. Police said their actions will be "meticulously scrutinized" to determine if the officers complied with department policy.
An ambulance took Gonzales away and detectives got to work, filling bags of evidence with what police believe to be illegal methamphetamines found in the front seat.
We learned that Gonzales served time in Tarrant County as recently as last December.
We also figured out who he was talking to on that cell phone; it was his daughter. She told News 8 she was begging him to pull over. "Do you want me to go to jail?" he asked her.
Gonzales didn't seem to realize that's exactly where he would wind up at the end of his long Wednesday afternoon drive. He was charged with evading arrest and possession of a controlled substance. Police said additional charges may be added.
