It was a Tuesday night that Boulder, Colorado law enforcement will not soon forget. What started as a routine call about a man rattling car door handles and knocking on home doors in a residential neighborhood spiraled into one of the stranger police pursuits the Front Range has seen in recent memory. A fire engine, a multi-agency chase, stop sticks deployed across several intersections, and a suspect with an already lengthy criminal record all collided in the early morning hours of April 29, 2025.
The incident began just before midnight on April 28 when Boulder Police responded to the 4500 block of 19th Street after residents reported a man attempting to open cars and homes. Officers arrived, detained the suspect, and transported him to the Boulder County jail, where he was booked and released around 3:30 a.m. on a third-degree trespassing charge. That is standard procedure under Colorado law for that offense. What happened next was decidedly not standard.
Just nine minutes after his release, Boulder Fire-Rescue Engine 143 rolled up to the same jail for a completely unrelated medical call. While paramedics were inside the booking lobby treating a patient, the freshly released suspect climbed into the unattended fire engine and drove away. The vehicle in question is one of Boulder’s electric RTX engines, a cutting-edge piece of equipment that does not come cheap.
What followed was a multi-agency pursuit stretching from Boulder all the way into downtown Longmont, involving the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, Boulder Police, and eventually Longmont Police, who ultimately stopped the chase the old-fashioned way: spike strips across multiple intersections on Highway 287.
How the Chase Unfolded Across the Front Range
Once deputies spotted the stolen engine at 34th Street and Valmont Road, it quickly became clear the driver had no intention of stopping. The suspect headed south on Foothills Parkway, turned east on Arapahoe Avenue, then pushed north onto Highway 287. Longmont Police stepped in and deployed stop sticks at three separate locations along the highway, at Plateau Road, Pike Road, and Ken Pratt Boulevard.
The deflating tires eventually did their job. The suspect lost control of Engine 143 and brought it to a stop at 1st Street and Main Street in the heart of downtown Longmont. He bailed out on foot, but that only bought him a few minutes of freedom before Boulder County Sheriff’s deputies and Longmont officers caught up with him nearby. A Boulder County Sheriff’s deputy sustained a minor injury during a foot pursuit earlier in the incident, though no other serious injuries were reported among first responders or bystanders.
Who Is Richmond Takashi Johnson?
The suspect was identified as Richmond Takashi Johnson, born August 27, 1992. Authorities noted he carries an extensive criminal history, though specific past convictions were not detailed in the initial release. This time around, he is facing a significantly more serious list of charges than the trespassing citation that started the whole chain of events.
Johnson was booked on eight charges including two counts of felony motor vehicle theft, felony vehicular eluding, felony criminal mischief for damage to city property, obstructing a peace officer and emergency service providers, resisting arrest, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, and driving after revocation. The charge list alone tells a fairly complete story of how the early morning hours played out. As the investigation continues, additional charges could be added.
What About the Fire Engine?
Engine 143 took a beating. The city’s Fleet division is currently assessing the full extent of the damage, which is described as significant. Two Boulder County Sheriff’s Office vehicles were also seriously damaged during the pursuit, and a third sustained minor damage.
What makes this loss especially noteworthy is the type of vehicle involved. Boulder Fire-Rescue’s RTX electric engines represent a newer generation of firefighting equipment, and significant damage to one of them is not a minor inconvenience. Boulder Fire-Rescue’s public information office is expected to release more details once the damage assessment is complete.
What Can We Learn from This Incident?
At face value, this reads like a bizarre one-off. A man gets released from jail in the middle of the night, a fire engine happens to pull up at the right wrong moment, and chaos ensues. But there are a few worth considering here.
First, the proximity of the unattended vehicle to a jail exit is something departments may want to revisit. Emergency vehicles respond to calls at jails and detention centers regularly, and having crews inside while a truck sits running or accessible outside is a real operational vulnerability. Most fire departments have protocols around vehicle security, but this incident is a stark reminder of what can happen in a matter of minutes.
Second, the swift multi-agency coordination in this case was genuinely impressive. From the moment the engine disappeared, Boulder County Sheriff’s deputies, Boulder Police, and Longmont Police worked together to track, pursue, and stop a large emergency vehicle on a public highway without any civilian fatalities or serious injuries. Stop sticks deployed across multiple intersections in sequence is not a casual operation.
Third, this case raises questions about what happens in the gap between release and reintegration for repeat offenders. Johnson’s extensive prior history and the fact that he allegedly committed multiple felonies within minutes of walking out of jail points to a broader conversation about recidivism and what supports, if any, exist for people in those immediate post-release hours.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective K. Euler at EulerK@bouldercolorado.gov or by phone at 303-441-3393, referencing case number 26-03696.