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Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Reviews Grappler Use After Jurupa Valley Pursuit Ends in Crash, Suspect’s Death

The case tests a newly adopted wheel‑entangling device alongside the department’s oversight of pursuit tactics.

Overview

  • The Jurupa Valley pursuit, which unfolded Wednesday afternoon, ended when a deputy’s Grappler attempt failed and the fleeing Cadillac slammed into a home’s retaining wall.
  • The Grappler, a newly adopted front‑mounted net that snags a car’s rear wheel to lock the axle, did not attach in this case and the car fishtailed across Bellegrave Avenue.
  • After the crash, negotiators staged a prolonged standoff before deputies found the driver with an apparent self‑inflicted gunshot wound and paramedics pronounced him dead, and the department’s Force Investigations Detail is investigating the death.
  • The Sheriff’s Office says it is reviewing the pursuit and the Grappler deployment, and it opened an internal probe after video showed a SWAT deputy scrolling on a phone during the standoff.
  • The crash destroyed a homeowner’s backyard wall and damaged a garage, and a district attorney investigator told her to file a claim with the sheriff’s office for possible repairs.