Clothes Lined

At first I couldn’t believe what it was I was seeing. A man was running across the parking lot of the Salvation Army store near the corner of Sutro and Wells, close behind him was an uniformed officer.

As the pair drew closer, I could tell the officer was a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper. He was being outrun by the man he was obviously chasing.

Then they raced across the mini-mall parking lot, where the man being chased literally jumped up the steps, further out-distancing the officer. The man outrunning the trooper was heading straight for me.

I decided to act.

While I had no idea why the man was being chased, I knew he had to be stopped. In my experience, people don’t simple run away from law enforcement unless they’ve done something they don’t want to be arrested for.

I could tell he was going to pass right by me.

As he did, I spun around and clothes lined him at the chin. He was in such a mental state from having run so hard and so fast that he didn’t realize the potential threat I posed.

He flopped hard on the ground. And as he rolled over onto his stomach, intending to get up, I stepped on him and grabbed his arm, placing it in a straight-arm-bar.

Te trooper finally made it to where I was holding the nearly exhausted man on the ground. The officer was panting heavily and I thought he was going to collapse as he came to a stop.

“Give me your cuffs,” I said.

He handed them to me and I slipped them on the man on the ground. He didn’t put up a struggle as he was completely spent from his attempt to avoid arrest.

As the trooper sat on the curb, several Reno Police units rolled up and took control of the scene. Even an ambulance arrived to check out both men.

I never did find out what the guy was wanted for or why he ran from the trooper.