HOUSTON – A SWAT situation involving a driver barricaded inside an 18-wheeler ended with an arrest Friday in northwest Houston.

Officers tried to stop the driver of the big rig just before 2:30 a.m., who was driving erratically and going the wrong way with the head lights off, police said. After a short chase, the driver stopped in the 4900 block of Ella.

“When Officers approached he displayed a large knife and then began acting erratically, getting into his cab changing clothes, laying his head on the steering wheel, not responding to officers verbal commands,” HPD spokesperson Keses Smith said

Police said the driver barricaded himself inside the cab of the truck with a knife but surrendered after a short time. Police took the man into custody.

"HPD deployed gas inside the cab, which prompted the suspect to exit without incident and he was arrested and taken into custody," Smith said.

A SWAT officer said paramedics checked the 32-year-old man out once he was out of the truck. He was not hurt.

The driver was being evaluated to determine whether he'll be sent to a psychiatric center or jail, police said.



