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COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Police said they used Mace and a Taser gun to arrest former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett Wednesday morning after they found an arsenal of weapons inside an SUV he was driving.
Clarett was taken into custody at about 3 a.m. in a restaurant's parking lot off Brice Road following a brief chase, NBC 4's David Wayne reported.
Police said they spotted an SUV that was driving erratically along Brice Road and then followed it as it drove onto Interstate 70, Wayne reported.
The SUV was then seen making a U-turn along the interstate. Officers placed stop-sticks on the road but the SUV continued driving and exited along Brice Road, Wayne reported.
Despite a flat tire, the vehicle then struck a police cruiser in a the parking lot of a Tee Jaye's Country Place restaurant, located at 2435 Brice Rd., where Clarett was taken into custody, Wayne reported.
"I saw the car come over here in the Tee Jaye's lot and actually bump into the cruiser," said a witness who requested anonymity. "He didn't want to stop."
"(Clarett) was resisting to the point that they felt it was necessary to try to use a Taser," said Columbus police Sgt. Mike Woods. "He had a bulletproof vest on and the Tasers would not penetrate that, so they used Mace. It took several officers to get his arms behind his back and get him under control and handcuffed."
Police then found an arsenal of weapons inside the SUV, including a loaded assault rifle and three loaded handguns. A hatchet, clothing and an open bottle of vodka were also taken from the vehicle, Wayne reported.
The SUV was registered to Clarett's uncle, Wayne reported.
Clarett was scheduled to appear in court later on Wednesday for a status hearing regarding an aggravated robbery charge. He is scheduled to go on trial next Monday stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred early on New Year's Day outside a Columbus bar.
When will he learn???
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