Troopers Arrest One After Multi-County Pursuit

APRIL 2, 2024 (LINCOLN, NEB.)  — Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol, with assistance from multiple other law enforcement agencies, arrested a Lincoln man following a pursuit that crossed three counties overnight.

At approximately 11:30 p.m., Monday, NSP was notified that Butler County Sheriff’s Deputies were in pursuit of a Toyota Rav4 that had fled when a deputy attempted to check on it as it was stopped on the side of the road. A trooper was able to locate the pursuit as it was traveling westbound on Highway 92.

The pursuit traveled through Polk County and into Merrick County, where NSP took over the primary position in the pursuit. In Merrick County, the Central City Police Department was able to successfully deploy stop sticks to slow the vehicle. The Toyota then came to a stop west of the Highway 14/Highway 92 intersection.

Troopers provided verbal commands to the driver to exit the vehicle, but the driver did not comply. After a few minutes, the driver accelerated and continued fleeing westbound. The trooper then performed a tactical vehicle intervention to bring the vehicle to a stop. The driver then complied with commands and was taken into custody without further incident.

The driver, Matthew Ross, 36, of Lincoln, was arrested for flight to avoid arrest and willful reckless driving. He was lodged in Butler County Jail.

The sheriff’s offices of Butler, Polk, Howard, and Merrick Counties, as well as the Central City Police Department, assisted in this incident.