Trucker leads police on wild chase ending with gunfire

Oct. 4, 2011
Truck driver Michael Scott Cook, taking issue with being pulled over for a missing front license plate, led police on a chase on I-20 near Tyler, TX, Monday, and was only stopped when officers fired a M-4 rifle to blow out his tires

Truck driver Michael Scott Cook, taking issue with being pulled over for a missing front license plate, led police on a chase on I-20 near Tyler, TX, Monday, and was only stopped when officers fired a M-4 rifle to blow out his tires.

Smith County Constable Mark Waters was making what he believed would be a routine traffic stop when he pulled over Cook because his truck was missing a front license plate.

“He became agitated about the law in the state of Texas of having to have a license plate and tried to take his paperwork back away from me,” Waters told KLTV News. “I informed him he would be placed under arrest. He informed me that he was not going to stick around.”

The truck driver then drove off in his rig. Waters said he ran to the front of the vehicle in an attempt to stop Cook, but to no avail.

“During the time he was throwing out a lot of articles...large bags of trash, a fire extinguisher, cans of Coke. He was waving gestures at us out the window,” Waters said.

Waters called for backup and DPS troopers scrambled to I-20 to help. Near Kilgore, Cook allegedly tried to hit a DPS trooper’s car that was parked on the shoulder. The trooper was able to maneuver the vehicle out of the way to keep from being hit.

A trooper was able to disable the truck tractor semi-trailer in Longview by deflating the tires with his M-4 rifle, according to DPS Trooper Jean Dark.

Cook was arrested and taken to the Gregg County jail, where he is being held on $50,000 bond.

About the Author

Deborah Whistler

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