After chase, Pasco deputies talk down suicidal suspect

DADE CITY (FOX 13) - A dramatic chase Thursday night in Pasco County was all captured by deputies' body cameras.

Pasco County Sheriff's Office deputies were trying to catch 19-year-old Chase Johnson, who had warrants for armed home invasion and carjacking.

“Shots fired! Shots fired!” one deputy could be heard saying as they chased Johnson.

He was considered to be armed and dangerous at the time.

Eventually, Johnson crashed near a pond and then deputies say he began pointing his gun at his own head. This is when deputies changed tactics and became negotiators.

 “No matter what we do in our lives people care,” a deputy started telling Johnson.

They eventually talked him into surrendering.

“The deputies that were involved evaluated that from second to second and when he was a threat to the public they took appropriate action when he was a threat only to himself showed amazing restraint,” said Captain Tait Sandborn. 

Johnson has been charged with two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and fleeing. He has a long criminal history. He’s in jail with a bond that’s more than $300,000.