HOUSTON – Heroic officers with the Houston Police Department detail the moments they put their life-saving skills to use following a chase that ended in Sims Bayou.
On Sunday, officers tried to conduct a traffic stop on a Mini Cooper, then a pursuit began. The vehicle eventually arrived at the 7900 block of Grove Ridge Drive around 11:45 p.m.
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Authorities said the suspect drove into the bayou, jumped out the driver’s seat and tried to open the back door of the vehicle.
“When we pulled up, what we saw one person getting out of the car, went immediately to the back passenger door,” said Officer Hunter Holmes. “He was trying to get it open. And we weren’t really sure what he was doing until he pulled the car seat out of the back.”
“When he pulled the car seat out, only thing I could think was, “Hurry up, let’s go!’” Officer Jacob Bradshaw said.
Holmes and Bradshaw, along with other officers, sprung into action and made a mad dash into the murky waters.
“Didn’t even really care if the suspect got away and really just want to get the kid out,” Bradshaw said.
HPD Patrol helicopters show the intense moments when officers realized the baby was in the back seat of the suspect’s vehicle.
Bradshaw said the suspect tried to swim away and when Officer Holmes got close to him, the man let go of the child. He said he was able to grab the car seat.
“Shockingly, the kid was doing alright,” Bradshaw said. “They had him wrapped up in an HPD uniform that somebody had.”
Once the child was safe and secured, Officer James Joseph assisted Holmes to make sure the suspect wasn’t trying to fight him while in the water. Joseph said he swam towards Holmes with the suspect and they both apprehended him.
Bradshaw said he returned to the completely submerged vehicle to make sure no one else was inside.
“Thank God no one else was in there,” he said. “I’ve actually had a fair amount of water training from the military, so it kind of just was right place, right time.”
The man was charged with evading authorities and child endangerment.
The child was taken to the hospital for observation.
Sunday night, our officers put their life-saving skills to use. During a police pursuit a suspect drove his car into Sims Bayou.
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) June 8, 2023
See the footage taken from our HPD patrol helicopter and hear the story in the officers' own words.#OneSafeHouston #HouNews pic.twitter.com/FCFVXmPisH