VIDEO: Crockett police dashcam shows vehicle involved in chase crashing into patrol unit

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - Dashcam video from a Crockett Police Department patrol unit shows the moment that a driver who had been running from law enforcement smashed into it in an effort to drive through a roadblock Wednesday.

Trinity Police Chief Steven Jones said Thursday that they got a report of a felony assault by strangulation-family violence incident that had occurred in the town. The suspect, who was later identified as Leif Epperson Gonzales, 45, was allegedly armed.

Once a Trinity police officer located the suspect’s vehicle, he started following it, Jones said. At that point, Gonzales allegedly stopped in the middle of the road and then tried to back into the TPD officer.

Then, a high-speed chase started. The chase went from Trinity to Crockett in neighboring Houston County.

According to a post on the Crockett Police Department Facebook page. CPD officers were dispatched out to assist with a motor vehicle pursuit headed into Crockett from Trinity. The pursuing law enforcement officers asked the Crockett PD officers to deploy “stop sticks” to help disable the vehicle.

A third responding CPD officer positioned his patrol unit in an intersection along with additional units to divert the suspect around Loop 304 and away from the downtown Crockett area.

“As can be seen in the video the suspect continued and attempted to drive through ultimately striking a Crockett Police Department unit,” the Facebook post stated. “At the time of the collision, the officer was not in the vehicle and just relocated to another position.”

The suspect was stopped, and the man did not make it into downtown Crockett. After the crash, the suspect was removed from his vehicle and taken to the Crockett Medical Center to be checked out for non-life-threatening injuries.

After the suspect was released from the hospital, he was taken back to the Trinity County Jail.

Gonzales was booked into the Trinity County Jail on a third-degree felony evading arrest with a vehicle charge, a Class C misdemeanor reckless driving charge, and a Class C misdemeanor failure to maintain a single lane charge.

Jones said more charges are pending against Gonzales.

“There were no officers injured during this incident,” the Facebook post stated. “The Crockett Police Department cannot express how much we appreciate all the calls, text, and prayers from our citizens. The attached photos and videos show what our officers face on a daily basis.”

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