Stun Gun Instrumental in Capturing Man Fleeing Police

Late Wednesday night, a young man, age 29, was stopped at a sobriety checkpoint in York County, Virginia. The check point was run by Virginia state police and the York County DUI Task Force to restrain individuals driving under the influence (DUI).

The man provided a blood sample on the scene (in a waiting ambulance) but shortly thereafter fled into the woods near the checkpoint. Police took up the chase but when they caught the man he continued to resist them vigorously.

At that point police used a stun gun to subdue him. Initially he continued to fight despite the use of the stun gun but was eventually arrested.

After subduing the man it was discovered that he had provided false identification and forged another person’s name on the documents relating to the blood sample he gave. He was also driving with a suspended license and was wanted on a number of outstanding warrants.

The York County Sheriff’s Office noted that the man was booked after the arrest at Central Booking and then sent to the York County Prison with no bail set.

This routine traffic stop that turned violent is an example of why stun guns are useful tools for the police. The suspect was so agitated that it would have been difficult to get the situation under control using physical force alone, and introducing a lethal weapon to the mix could have agitated him further and/or injured either party.