The incident started on June 18 when officers tried to pull over a car driven by Benjamin Willis Becker. Becker refused to stop, which began a vehicle pursuit that ended at a country store. Becker, however, then fled on foot into rough terrain. With officers giving chase, he then fell into a ravine, alluding Burnet County deputies.
The BCSO brought in a helicopter to help, and activated the county’s reverse 911 system. This alerted residents, providing a description and last known location of the suspect. Unfortunately, deputies were unable to find the suspect, calling off the search at 9 p.m. Highlander News reports that they believed Becker could have been hurt in the fall, and would eventually seek medical attention.
The next morning, officers caught a break when a resident called and reported that Becker had shown up and asked to use the phone. He took off before deputies could arrive, so the county activated the reverse 911 system again with an updated location. Then, less than an hour later, another resident called and said he had found the suspect in a creek bed on his property. He was also holding him at gunpoint.
Deputies arrived to find the suspect dehydrated and scratched up from his ordeal. They took him into custody without further incident.
Texas Gun Owner Ended Chase With Awareness and Gun
There are two lessons to be learned here. The first regards awareness. Situational awareness covers knowing what is happening around a person. However, folks need to also stay aware of situations in their area. Technology helps this a great deal, particularly in this case. The Texas man who found the suspect knew about the situation via the reverse 911 system. And it shows the importance of the public in regard to police activities.
“This incident shows the power of cooperation between law enforcement and the public. The reverse 911 system allowed us to quickly get information out to the public in the area of this incident,” said Burnet County Sheriff’s Capt. Chris Jett in a statement. “The arrest of this suspect was the result of alert citizens making phone calls based upon the information that they had received.”
Because of this the man carried his gun when he went out to walk his dog. Of course, he might have done so anyway, which brings up the second lesson. If you’re going to carry a gun, you should carry it all the time.
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