San Rafael, CA - On 01/13/2025, just before 1:45 PM, SRPD was made aware of a pursuit involving a suspect vehicle that was wanted by the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety (RPDPS) for a felony crime and assault on an officer with a deadly weapon involving a vehicle.   

SRPD learned that a felony crime occurred in Rohnert Park on 01/11/25.  The vehicle information was added to their automated license plate reader (ALPR) system.  On 01/13/2025, the suspect vehicle had been located by their ALPR system on East Cotati Avenue near the Sonoma State University campus.  RPDPS officers attempted to stop the suspect vehicle, and it attempted to ram one of the officer's police cars.  RPDPS pursued the vehicle in their jurisdiction, aided by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) helicopter.  RPDPS terminated the pursuit just before the suspect vehicle approached the freeway to protect the public’s safety. 

A short time later, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) located the suspect vehicle while it was traveling southbound on the US-101 freeway.  

The CHP pursued the vehicle in Marin County and into the greater San Rafael area. During the pursuit, SRPD Dispatchers and officers monitored the CHP’s radio traffic and were prepared to assist and safeguard the public from the fleeing vehicle.

At one point in the pursuit, the suspect, identified as Casey Joseph Beck, a 36-year-old Antioch resident, made the reckless decision to evade officers by driving southbound in the northbound lanes of the US-101 freeway in the area of Lucas Valley Road.  CHP officers stopped chasing the vehicle and allowed the SCSO helicopter to track the vehicle from the air.  

In the meantime, CHP and San Rafael police officers stopped northbound US-101 freeway traffic at the Interstate 580 interchange in an effort to protect the public from the wrong-way vehicle.  

The evading vehicle continued the wrong way on the freeway into the Downtown San Rafael area, over the downtown viaduct, and toward the freeway closure.  During the same time, SCSO’s helicopter witnessed the suspect vehicle drive toward and attempt to hit a CHP motorcycle officer. 

Moments later, an SRPD officer, seeing that the vehicle was still traveling at speeds of 50 MPH toward stopped motorists, realized the suspect vehicle would likely kill or seriously injure a member of the motoring public.  The officer used his police car to intervene and pin the vehicle against the concrete wall along the shoulder.  The suspect vehicle collided with the front of the police car and was immediately disabled.  Even though mostly disabled, the vehicle still passed through from its momentum and collided with one of the stopped vehicles on the freeway.  The driver of the struck vehicle was assessed by San Rafael Fire Paramedics and found to be uninjured.  The SRPD officer was also uninjured.

After a brief standoff, Beck was taken into custody.   He was also checked by SRFD Paramedics and was determined to have a minor injury to his leg.  CHP arrested Beck and transported him to Marin General Hospital for medical clearance before being booked into jail.

During the investigation at the scene, a witnessing motorist on the freeway at the scene stated that the suspect was headed straight for them when the SRPD officer intervened.  The motorist credited the law enforcement officers at the scene for saving their life.

Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, the California Highway Patrol, and the San Rafael Police Department are coordinating their efforts on this series of events.  Beck is expected to be charged with several felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon on an officer and the commercial burglary that occurred in Rohnert Park.