Colton police officers chased a documented gang member for nearly 50 minutes Saturday morning before arresting him in a Redlands residential neighborhood after he crashed into a parked vehicle, authorities said.
The driver, identified by police as Matthew Rodriguez, failed to stop when officers attempted to pull over a red Honda Civic near North Grand Avenue and West Olive Street in Colton around 11 a.m. What followed was a prolonged pursuit through city streets that ended when Rodriguez crashed into a parked Honda Pilot near the corner of University Street and Lalania Avenue in Redlands.
According to NBC Los Angeles, a video recorded by a freelance photographer shows three Colton police officers taking Rodriguez down before placing him under arrest. The Colton Police Department said Rodriguez did not go quietly.
"While officers were attempting to place Rodriguez under arrest, Rodriguez actively resisted. Officers deployed their TASER, which was ineffective, causing officers to use alternative force options, including the use of a baton, punches, and knee strikes."
A Chase That Put an Entire Community at Risk
The details of the pursuit itself paint a picture of a driver with zero regard for public safety. Police say Rodriguez acted erratically during the chase, ran multiple red lights, drove into opposing traffic lanes, and sped through residential neighborhoods. He rammed a patrol car. He made gestures indicating he was shooting at officers.
This was not a panicked driver making a bad decision at a traffic stop. This was sustained, aggressive, dangerous behavior over the course of nearly an hour on streets where families live.
Neighbors who witnessed the arrest were shaken. Cyrus Kazemi, a resident, put it simply: "I've never really seen something like this." Albert Aguilar, another resident, echoed the sentiment.
"That kind of stuff doesn't happen here. Up on the freeway, maybe, but not here. It's unusual."
It shouldn't happen there. It shouldn't happen anywhere. But when a suspect runs red lights through neighborhoods and drives into oncoming traffic for 50 minutes, every person on every block between Colton and Redlands becomes a potential casualty.
The Suspect's Background Tells a Familiar Story
Authorities described Rodriguez as a documented gang member. Police also said he had stolen mail in his possession. Earlier this month, police believe he shot and killed his family's dog.
None of these details exists in isolation. They form a pattern that anyone in law enforcement or criminal justice recognizes: escalating behavior from an individual already known to authorities. The question that never gets asked loudly enough is what it takes to keep someone like this off the street before he's weaving through oncoming traffic on a Saturday morning.
This is the reality that communities across Southern California live with. Not in the abstract, not as a policy debate, but as a red Honda Civic blowing through intersections while their kids play outside.
The Investigation Ahead
Colton police said the actions of the officers involved in the arrest are under investigation. That's standard procedure when force is used during an arrest, and there's nothing unusual about the review itself.
What deserves scrutiny is the full picture. A man police describe as a documented gang member led officers on a 50-minute pursuit, endangered every driver and pedestrian in his path, rammed a patrol car, resisted arrest after crashing, and shrugged off a Taser. Officers used batons, punches, and knee strikes to bring him into custody.
The force question will be examined. It always is. But the broader question, the one about why this man was in a position to terrorize a community on a Saturday morning in the first place, tends to get lost in the footage.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Colton Police Department.
The residents of that Redlands neighborhood went back inside after the sirens faded. The parked Honda Pilot belonged to someone who woke up that morning expecting an ordinary weekend. Rodriguez made sure it wasn't.
