Watch these Thai cops shoot the tires of a driver trying to flee a checkpoint

Intense.

July 26, 2022

Watch these Thai cops shoot the tires of a driver trying to flee a checkpoint

It's not everyday that you get to see the cops actually pull out their firearms and discharge them on duty. Well, not in most of Southeast Asia, at least. But it doesn't necessarily mean it never happens here. It's just not as frequent as, say, the U.S.

So when police officers do use their firearms here, it can be quite a big deal.

Tired of shooting out tires.

At a routine police checkpoint in the hip Ekkamai area of Bangkok, Thailand, it was business as usual. That is, until one suspicious driver decided he wouldn't let police search his car, if ordered to stop. Instead of playing it cool, he sped off – igniting a wild goose chase.

Police officers on motorbikes managed to surround the driver at the Pracha Songkroh intersection in Din Daeng. Basically, he was boxed in by traffic. At this point, the driver had knocked down the police motorbike, basically signaling that he wasn't going to stop, let alone get out of his car.

It's at this point when a nearby noodle stall owner started recording the incident:

"Need to sell noodles. Need to dodge bullets," the video's hilarious caption on Facebook reads.

And it makes total sense why the noodle seller would even say that. Frustrated with the driver trying to escape (and also damaging surrounding cars), the police officers pulled out their guns and began shooting out all four of his tires in an attempt to render the car immobile.

A meal with a view, right? Screenshot: Pharadorn Wimonrangkarat / Facebook

The scene gets a little intense, as the driver becomes more desperate to escape, bumping into the downed police motorbike one more time before driving off with his tires flattened.

Fortunately, his car couldn't take the beating it had just endured, forcing him to stop up the road. The driver was, of course, arrested.

But why was he so desperate to get away in the first place?

After searching his car, police found two things that would definitely be considered incriminating – a sword, as well as an undisclosed amount of methamphetamine.

It's unclear whether the drugs were for personal use or for distribution.

A weird way to stop somebody.

Many people reacting to the video criticized the police officer's use of his firearm, calling it dangerous and unprofessional. After all, there were civilians on all sides. Some people even criticized the officers for being indecisive with their guns, saying they looked like they didn't even know how to hold their own guns properly.