High-Speed Chase Escalates After Suspect Targets Deputy Deploying Stop Sticks on the Roadway

A traffic stop that began with questions about a driver’s identity turned into a high-speed pursuit and a frightening near-collision with a deputy after police said a wanted suspect fled with his elderly mother in the passenger seat.

The incident, was featured by the bodycam channel Midwest Safety. According to the channel’s host, the driver, identified as Jose Rivera, was initially stopped by an officer who suspected he had provided a false name and Social Security number while trying to avoid an outstanding warrant connected to an earlier DUI case.

The officer did not immediately move to arrest Rivera. Instead, he told him he wanted to verify his identity and asked him to step outside the vehicle so he could take a photo and compare it with warrant information.

Rivera refused, then suddenly drove away.

What followed was a pursuit that reached dangerous speeds, moved through traffic and residential roads, and escalated when Rivera allegedly swerved toward a deputy who was attempting to deploy stop sticks in the roadway.

The footage later showed Rivera taken into custody after the chase ended, while his 79-year-old mother was evaluated by EMS and found not to be injured, though she was badly shaken.

Officer Suspects the Driver Is Lying About His Identity

The encounter began as a relatively ordinary traffic stop.

The officer asked Rivera for his driver’s license and basic identifying information. Rivera gave a name and a Social Security number, but the officer quickly became suspicious after comparing the information with an outstanding warrant.

“I think he’s lying to me,” the officer said over the radio. “He gave me a social and I’m looking at this warrant and the social is very similar. There’s only one letter off.”

The officer believed Rivera was likely the person named in the warrant but wanted to avoid arresting the wrong man. He asked dispatch for a photo and then returned to the vehicle.

Rather than immediately ordering Rivera out at gunpoint, the officer tried to explain what he was doing.

“My intentions are to confirm your identity,” he told Rivera. “I’m going to go get my phone and take a photo of you.”

The officer said that if the photo confirmed Rivera’s identity, he would have to arrest him. He even told Rivera that he did not want to pull him from the car in front of his mother.

Rivera insisted that he did not have a warrant and appeared increasingly nervous as the conversation continued.

The officer repeatedly encouraged him to step out and cooperate. He told Rivera that he was not yet being placed under arrest and that he simply wanted to confirm who he was.

But Rivera did not take the opportunity.

Rivera Flees With His Mother in the Passenger Seat

Without warning, Rivera drove away.

The pursuit began with Rivera traveling eastbound at high speed, with officers reporting speeds that climbed toward 90 miles per hour. Dispatch traffic showed him moving through multiple roads and intersections while police tried to keep up.

The Midwest Safety host’s footage makes clear that Rivera was not alone. His mother, later identified as 79 years old, was still in the passenger seat.

That choice made the chase even more dangerous.

A fleeing driver already risks injury to police, pedestrians, other motorists, and themselves. When an elderly family member is trapped inside the vehicle, the driver is also putting someone close to them in danger without giving that person any control over what happens next.

Police reported heavy traffic during parts of the pursuit, and the chase moved through areas where normal daily activity was still happening.

Later, an officer pointed out that children were coming out of school and that Rivera had created danger for “so many lives” by refusing to stop.

Rivera later said he had become scared and did not know why he ran.

“All it was was a simple warrant,” he told officers after his arrest.

That admission underscored how quickly a relatively manageable encounter can become much worse when someone decides that running is preferable to dealing with an arrest warrant.

Stop Sticks Turn Into a Near-Collision

The most alarming moment in the video happened when a deputy moved into position to deploy stop sticks.

Stop sticks are designed to puncture a fleeing vehicle’s tires and safely reduce its ability to continue at high speed. Officers typically place them in a roadway while trying to maintain enough distance to avoid being struck.

According to Midwest Safety’s narration, the channel calculated Rivera’s speed at approximately 73 miles per hour in the seconds before he reached the deputy.

The deputy was in the roadway, preparing to deploy the stop sticks, when Rivera’s vehicle approached.

The footage appears to show the vehicle moving toward the deputy rather than continuing straight through the open roadway. The deputy had to react quickly as Rivera passed dangerously close to him.

“Oh my God,” an officer exclaimed over the radio.

Another officer immediately reported that Rivera had nearly run over the deputy.

“He almost ran over an officer,” the officer said. “He’s trying to set up spikes.”

The deputy later described what he saw from his position. He said it appeared Rivera initially looked as though he might go around him, but then turned back toward him as the stop-stick deployment was happening.

“If he would have stayed in a straight line, it wouldn’t have hit him,” the deputy said, referring to the near collision. “He swerved.”

Rivera later denied trying to hit the deputy. He said he had swerved away from the deputy and was only attempting to avoid the stop sticks.

“I swerved away from him,” Rivera told officers.

That disagreement became legally important because the video description said Rivera was initially charged with attempted capital murder of a peace officer or firefighter, along with several other offenses. However, Midwest Safety said the capital murder charge was later dismissed by court order and did not move forward.

The dismissal does not erase the seriousness of the near-collision, but it does matter when describing the final state of the case. Rivera was accused of targeting the deputy, yet the most severe charge was ultimately dropped.

Pursuit Continues Before Officers Use a PIT Maneuver

After the stop-stick incident, officers continued following Rivera as he drove through additional roads at high speed.

Radio traffic indicated that officers considered using a PIT maneuver, a tactic in which a pursuing officer deliberately contacts a fleeing vehicle in a controlled way to force it to spin or stop.

One officer said he was attempting to catch up and would conduct a PIT if the situation allowed.

The footage suggests Rivera also tried to brake-check a pursuing unit during the chase, adding another dangerous element to the pursuit.

Eventually, officers were able to stop the vehicle and take Rivera into custody.

The arrest was physically difficult. Officers ordered him to the ground and repeatedly told him to put his hands behind his back. Rivera complained that he could not breathe and said he was not going anywhere, but officers continued working to secure him.

“I can’t breathe,” Rivera said several times.

Officers responded that he needed to stop resisting and place his hands behind his back.

The video does not show him being seriously injured during the arrest, but officers later decided he should be medically cleared at a hospital.

Rivera’s Mother Is Checked by EMS

Rivera’s mother remained in the vehicle during the pursuit and was understandably distressed after it ended.

Officers called EMS to evaluate her, and Midwest Safety reported that she was not injured. Still, the footage shows officers treating her as shaken and in need of time to calm down.

Rivera appeared deeply concerned about her after the arrest, repeatedly calling out for his mother and asking to speak with her.

At one point, he asked officers to let him say something to her through the window. His focus also turned to a small amount of money in the vehicle, including an envelope containing $35 that he said belonged to his mother.

Officers said they would make sure the money was handled and that family members were being contacted to help her.

The scene added a human complication to an already dangerous case. Rivera’s mother was not accused of taking part in the flight, but she was placed in the middle of a high-speed chase because her son chose to flee.

The situation also affected officers’ decisions about the damaged vehicle. One officer said he did not want her driving it because she was upset and the car had been damaged during the pursuit.

Rivera Says He Was Scared, Officers Say He Risked Lives

Once Rivera was in custody, he began apologizing and asking officers not to pursue the charge involving the deputy.

He insisted that he had never tried to harm an officer and said he had swerved to avoid the stop sticks, not the deputy.

“In my whole life, I’ve never harmed an officer,” Rivera said.

The officers did not appear persuaded.

One officer told him that he had put many people at risk, including schoolchildren, drivers, officers, and his own mother.

“You put so many lives at risk right now,” the officer said.

That reaction is understandable given the footage. Whatever Rivera’s intent was at the exact moment he passed the deputy, the choice to flee after being asked to step out had already transformed a possible warrant arrest into a chase involving speeds near 90 miles per hour and a close call with an officer on foot.

Police pursuits are always difficult because every option carries risk. Continuing the chase can endanger the public, but allowing a suspect to flee may encourage further dangerous behavior or leave a wanted person free to harm someone later.

In this case, the apparent attempt to avoid stop sticks created a moment that could easily have ended with a deputy seriously hurt or killed.

Charges and the Status of the Case

Midwest Safety reported that Rivera was already wanted on an outstanding warrant related to a previous DUI offense.

The channel said he was ultimately charged with evading arrest with a vehicle, evading arrest with a previous conviction, failure to identify with intent to provide false information, tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair, possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, and a parole warrant.

The video also said Rivera initially faced a charge of attempted capital murder of a peace officer or firefighter, with total bond set at $165,000.

However, according to the channel’s closing update, the attempted capital murder charge was later dismissed by court order and did not proceed further. Rivera remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty on any remaining charges.

The incident shows how quickly the stakes can rise when a driver decides to run from a traffic stop. The original issue was a suspected false identity connected to a warrant, but the decision to flee created a far more serious situation for everyone involved.

A driver, an elderly passenger, multiple officers, other motorists, and one deputy deploying stop sticks were all placed in a position where a split-second mistake could have been fatal.