'Sovereign Citizen' Halts Bay Bridge Rush-Hour Traffic During Police Standoff

RICHMOND, CA — A self-proclaimed "sovereign citizen" who refused to stop for police on the Bay Bridge was arrested after a standoff that involved officers deploying a chemical agent, according to the Richmond Police Department.

The incident began Wednesday morning when a Richmond police officer spotted a man driving erratically in morning rush-hour traffic. The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver refused to stop, police said.

"The driver continued to drive at slow speeds, stopping several times to declare he was a sovereign citizen who did not recognize our authority to stop him," police said in a statement.

A sovereign citizen is someone who claims to be exempt from government authority, such as the requirement to follow laws, often leading to confrontations with law enforcement.

The driver continued toward the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza area where he stopped in the middle of a merge area, "optimizing the havoc he could wreak on the morning commute," police said.

Police used a drone to determine the driver was the sole occupant of the vehicle, police said.

"After negotiations with the suspect to exit his vehicle failed, officers were able to introduce a chemical agent into the interior of his car. The driver quickly decided he wanted he wanted to get out of his vehicle and was taken into custody without incident," police said.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was arrested on suspicion of evading police and suspected DUI. He also had an outstanding warrant from a previous incident in which he ran from police in a vehicle, police said.