Police arrest motorcyclist at gunpoint in downtown Santa Rosa after high-speed chase

Police arrested a motorcyclist at gunpoint during the lunch hour on Tuesday in downtown Santa Rosa after a short high-speed pursuit.

Paul Clarke, 55, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance and felony charges of reckless evading and violating his probation, said Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Jonathan Wolf. He is being held on $20,000 bail, the jail’s ?website said.

The incident began at?11:59 a.m., when an officer tried to stop Clarke on Railroad Street near Third Street for speeding about 10 miles over the limit and having an obstructed license plate, Wolf said. Clarke initially stopped, but then took off.

Clarke, who is homeless, drove east on Third Street until he reached Santa Rosa Avenue, at which point he drove south to Oak Street before circling back up to Santa Rosa Avenue and Third Street. Clarke then drove against traffic onto Old Courthouse Square. During this pursuit, which lasted about three minutes, Clarke ran about five stop signs and hit speeds close to 65 mph, Wolf said.

Once Clarke reached Old Courthouse Square, an officer who was inside the nearby Fourth Street Market & Deli and had been monitoring the chase over his radio saw Clarke approaching the shop. The officer came out of the deli with his gun drawn, ordering Clarke to stop, Wolf said. Clarke complied, and the officer pulled him off the motorcycle to detain him ?at 12:03 p.m.

Officers found about 2.5 grams of heroin on Clarke, which they believed was for personal use, Wolf said. The motorcycle was not registered to Clarke, but it had not been reported stolen.

The chase drew a noticeable police presence during the downtown lunch rush, as several patrol cars and about seven officers responded. Many nearby business owners witnessed the incident.

“It was intense,” said Neal Mogannam, who owns the Fourth Street Market & Deli.

Wolf said, though, that it’s standard protocol for officers to order suspects off their vehicle at gunpoint if the suspects fled, spurring a pursuit.

“Traffic stops can be inherently dangerous anyway - you never know who you’re stopping,” Wolf said. “But when you’re stopping someone who had (fled), you have to make the assumption that they’re potentially dangerous and potentially armed.”

Wolf also said it’s standard practice for the department to conduct an administrative investigation for any vehicle pursuits.