VIDEO: Hutto police chase suspect into Round Rock

HUTTO, Texas - Dramatic new police video showed a driver leading officers on a nearly 10 minute chase. It started in Hutto and ended near Round Rock.

At the beginning of July, Hutto police responded to a call about an assault at an apartment complex off Carl Stern Drive and Chris Kelly Boulevard. That quickly escalated into a chase across town.

The suspect fled down Highway 79 towards Round Rock. During the pursuit, he destroyed a tire on the rear passenger side.

Like a scene you might see on the big screen, smoke began pouring from his car.

"Some people may think, ‘Well, that was a great opportunity to ram his vehicle and debilitate him,'" said Hutto Police Chief Jeffrey Yarbrough. "Unfortunately, some of those things look really good and work well in the movies, but it’s not that simple."

So, the chase continued to Round Rock.

Eventually, officers follow the vehicle onto the southbound lane of I-35 before the driver crosses a median and lands in a culvert.

"He’s bailing," said an officer on scene.

Police said the driver attempted to run until they released their K-9, Rocket.

"When the suspect saw Rocket running towards him, he said, ‘I give up, I give up,’  and he laid on the ground," said Yarbrough.

Police caught up and arrested Lawrence Demont White. He was booked into the Williamson County Jail.

"Things like this don’t happen in the City of Hutto very often," said Yarbrough.

Yarbrough said not every fleeing criminal is worth the chase, but this case was different.

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"Some things you can’t let go," said Yarbrough. "If we had not gone after this individual and allowed him to remain at large, we’re uncertain of what continued risk to the public or to the victim that was here in Hutto."

The state also had a warrant out for White for violating parole.

According to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office, he’s had multiple run-ins with the law since 2018. Four of those charges included resisting arrest and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.  

"I want people to understand that coming into our community and committing a violent crime and thinking that you can run from the police, that is frowned upon because if you run, if you commit a crime like this individual or other crimes, and you think that you can run from the police in Hutto, we're going to make sure you go to jail tired," said Yarbrough.

Even though White led police on some major roads, police said they were able to arrest him without any other people on the roads getting injured.