ST. GEORGE — A suspect fled from a liquor store in St. George with a bottle of whiskey that was reportedly stolen, and from there a foot pursuit ensued down Tabernacle Street over the weekend.
The incident began with a call to emergency dispatch that a suspect had taken a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey and then fled from the store shortly after 5:30 p.m.in St. George.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, officers responded to the store to learn the suspect last was seen walking south on North 900 East, and during a canvass of the area, one of the officers spotted a man who matched the description of the suspect.
The officer pulled up behind the suspect and as he exited his patrol vehicle, the suspect looked back in the direction of the officer who was ordering the man to sit on the curb. Instead of complying, the report states, the suspect took off running east on Tabernacle Street.
Emergency dispatch was advised a foot pursuit was in progress and the officer continued to update his location as he chased the man on foot. The suspect took the bottle of whiskey out of his pocket, the report states, and unsuccessfully attempted to remove the lid.
At that point, the suspect threw the bottle, leaving the officer to note the suspect did so to prevent police from “seizing the alcohol.”
The suspect, later identified by his Social Security card as 41-year-old Charles Beau Pollock, of Topanga, California, raised both hands in the air as the pursuit approached an apartment complex near the 800 block of Tabernacle, but after being instructed to get on the ground multiple times by the pursuing officer, Pollock “would not follow the command.” The officer then tackled the man and the pair went to the ground where a scuffle ensued.
Meanwhile, a bystander saw the commotion and came to the officer’s aid by helping to hold the man down so the officer could secure the suspect in handcuffs.
Once detained, Pollock was lifted from the ground and reportedly told officers they needn’t handcuff him because “he was a federal agent from California,” the officer noted in the report.
He went on to tell the officer he had identification to prove he was a federal agent, but during a search of the suspect, officers found two pairs of handcuffs – “but no police ID.”
Despite Pollock’s claims of being a law enforcement agent, seemingly to avoid the arrest, the officer said, he “was not actually an officer.”
He was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail.
During the incident, Pollock continued to claim he was a law enforcement officer out of California, the officer noted in the report, and authorities in St. George later would learn the suspect reportedly made similar statements claiming to be a police officer to corrections staff at the jail.
Pollock faces six misdemeanor charges, including one count each of retail theft, failing to stop at the command of law enforcement, interfering with an arresting officer, consuming-possessing alcohol in public, intoxication and impersonation of an officer.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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