HOUSTON
Houston police officers commandeered an Uber vehicle to chase a fleeing suspect in The Heights neighborhood, pulling civilian driver Anthony Baines into the pursuit.
Baines was stopped at a stop sign at E. 7 1/2 Street and Oxford Street, about a block from picking up a passenger, when he spotted a shirtless man running with two officers behind him. An officer approached his car and told him, "Hey, give me a ride over there please. Go, go that way.go go go go go." His dashcam captured the exchange.
Baines complied. "I am surprised. I'm shocked. I have cops ordering me to do things. I'm going to comply. I didn't want to resist or anything of that nature," he said. He understood the logic: the suspect was running fast, and an officer in a vehicle could close the gap faster than one on foot.
The Houston Police Department confirmed the video's authenticity. Officers had been responding to a call that a man had threatened to shoot a mother and her two children. The suspect, reportedly upset over a believed theft, refused to cooperate when officers tried to detain him at an apartment and fled on foot.
Despite Baines' help, police did not apprehend the suspect.
Baines' wife worried about the risk he had taken. "Two people signed up to be in those situations. Two people are getting paid to be in those situations. One of them wasn't," Baines said of her concern.
Baines reflected on the experience afterward: "I didn't know what my rights were at the moment, but I'm glad I was able to help, and I'm glad that they are recognizing it. This is by far a unique situation. I never prepared for anything like this."
The Houston Police Department has not publicly addressed specific policy guidelines for officers using civilian vehicles in suspect pursuits.
