The Brownwood Police Department issued the following press release Thursday morning:
On Tuesday, March 16, 2021, at approximately 8:50 p.m., Officer James Wells was patrolling in the 1100 block of Avenue H when he observed a red pickup driving on 2nd Street. Officer Wells observed the vehicle slow as it approached an intersection. While doing this, Officer Wells noted that one brake light did not illuminate.
Officer Wells turned toward the pickup to initiate a traffic stop and inform the driver of the safety hazard. When Officer Wells turned that direction, he observed the pickup accelerate and turn sharply at the next block. Officer Wells did the same and then observed the pickup turn again without using turn signals as if trying to avoid contact by police.
Officer Wells was able to catch up to the pickup as it was pulling into a driveway in the 1300 block of Avenue H. The driver immediately exited the vehicle, waiving his hands and yelling toward the police vehicle. Officer Wells attempted to calm and detain the driver who he identified as 45yr old James Chandler Groessel of Brownwood. Groessel continued to argue with Officer Wells and told him that he always, “drives like a bat out of hell.”
At the conclusion of the investigation, Groessel was arrested for Evading Arrest/Detention in a Vehicle.