An auto-theft suspect driving an allegedly stolen truck led police Thursday on a chase from National City to Encanto, where officers forced the pickup to a halt and arrested him with help from a service dog.
The pursuit began in the area of Euclid Avenue and Plaza Boulevard about 4 p.m., authorities said.
San Diego and National City police chased the man over various roads for about a half-hour before the truck ran over a tire-flattening spike strip that officers had laid in its path at 65th Street and Wunderlin Avenue, SDPD Officer Tony Martinez said.
The suspect continued to the south and west for a short time, driving on two rims now covered only with tatters of rubber, then pulled to a stop on Fergus Street, near Imperial Avenue.
Though surrounded and boxed in, the man refused to surrender for several minutes, until officers released a police dog that leaped onto him and dragged him to the pavement.
Officers then swarmed the suspect and took him into custody. His name was not immediately available.
–City News Service
