SandyMaloneHouston, TX – A Houston SWAT team officer made quite the fashion statement on the side of a highway at the end of a long, slow-speed chase on Thursday morning.
The suspect had threatened his wife with a gun, and then fled, leading police throughout the Houston area for almost two hours, KTRK reported.
Finally, officers were able to box in the suspect’s vehicle on Highway 288, and stop him.
KTRK’s news helicopter was filming overhead as Houston Police Department (HPD) SWAT team officers surrounded the vehicle, broke out the windows, and hauled the suspect out to arrest him on March 22.
One officer, who news cameras seemed to favor, was dressed in a t-shirt and plaid shorts, and was wearing his SWAT tactical gear over that, and carrying a rifle.
While officers surrounded the vehicle as the drama came to a final climax, on-air news reporters on air and people on social media were asking “Who is that SWAT guy in plaid pants?”
“We’re all wondering, ‘who is this guy?’” the news anchor on KTRK asked, as she narrated footage of the chase.
“The
HPD told Blue Lives Matter that the SWAT officer was off-duty when he became aware of the ongoing incident, and he responded on his day off to help. They had not yet released the name of the officer who made the fashion statement.
“Poor guy,” laughed former SWAT commander William Malone, retired captain for DC Metro Transit Police.
“That’s why some SWAT members carry Nomex flight suits in their trunks. You want to respond if you get the call, but you’re not always dressed for it,” Malone said.
“This poor guy didn’t want to miss out,” he said after reviewing the video of the takedown.
You can see the video of the incident below: