Photo: Francisco Lima
WALNUT CREEK — For a man who is no stranger to handcuffs, his latest arrest was a more high-tech experience for him. This time a police robot was deployed to end a standoff, and officers arrested him for crashing into an unoccupied police car.
This crash happened at 3 a.m., while Walnut Creek officers were responding to a call on January 15. Out of seemingly nowhere, a driver crashed into the parked police car on the 1800 block of Lacassie Avenue.
Fortunately, no one got hurt. Though one officer standing outside the car had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. Meanwhile, the driver of the U-Haul truck kept right on going, prompting officers to commence a 3-mile chase.
Walnut Creek officers pursued the truck along Buskirk Avenue, and they eventually ended up in Pleasant Hill. They were joined by officers from Pleasant Hill at Crossroads Shopping Center on Monument Boulevard.
The driver stopped in the parking lot, but he refused to obey commands to come out of the truck. In fact, he remained uncooperative inside the U-Haul for about three hours.
During the standoff, a police robot was deployed to assist officers, who spoke to the driver using the robot’s speakers. The robot convinced the man to come outside of the truck shortly after 8 a.m.
Officers from Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill took the man identified as Francisco Lima, 46 of Antioch, into custody. Lima was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility. His charges are attempted assault with a deadly weapon and driving recklessly while evading a police officer.
This is Lima’s first arrest in 2019, and his first encounter with a police robot. Last year, Lima was arrested five times, for such offenses as stalking, public intoxication, possession of drug paraphernalia, and vandalism.
