Police: Suspect displays erratic behavior before, during and after arrest

Written by Kaitlin McCallum 

A high-speed ride through two towns ended with a Waterbury man begging Farmington police to arrest him — and doing everything he could to entice them, police said. 

Canton police tried to stop Chris Hicks, 31, of Waterbury, for various motor vehicle violations around 4 a.m. Monday but Hicks refused to stop, Farmington Police Lt. Marshall Porter said.

Canton police reportedly pursued at speeds up to 100 miles per hour before he crossed into Avon, according to Farmington Police. 

Canton Police Chief Christopher Arciero said Hicks was travelling at a high rate of speed and officers eventually decided not to pursue his vehicle into Avon. He said the investigation of Hicks remains ongoing. 

"We're still investigating our encounter with Mr. Hicks," Arciero said. 

Avon police then also pursued, but Hicks refused to stop. When Farmington police saw Hicks drive through a red light, officers followed him and Hicks accelerated to a high speed and shut off his lights, Porter said. 

Though officers did not engage Hicks in a chase, he did stop without incident, Porter said. A woman, Ashley Cronk, 25, was in the car with Hicks and was reportedly frightened. She was charged with criminal violation of a protective order, criminal impersonation and interfering with an officer after she allegedly lied to police about her identity. 

Hicks was charged with improper use of a marker plate, no insurance, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and reckless driving for the incident and taken back to the police department. Once at the police department, Hicks became belligerent and increasingly violent, police said. Though he had been released, Hicks reportedly refused to leave. 

“The dispatcher advised the sergeant that [Hicks] was washing his feet in the bathroom of the lobby, taking off his shirt and harassing the janitor.

And when cops told him to leave, he began yelling and screaming at the cops,” Porter said. Hicks reportedly told the officers that he paid $30,000 in income taxes, that he paid their salary and the he was their boss. He also allegedly began calling himself the ‘n’ word and ordering officers to arrest him or give him a ride. Porter said Hicks was told that if would settle down for a while, officers would get him a ride but that he began interrupting dispatchers and yelling so loudly that they couldn’t hear incoming 911 calls. 

Police finally arrested Hicks but that did not end his behavior, according to police. Once in a cell, Hicks started pounding on the door and stripping down naked, Porter said. “He was trying to block the camera, soaking his clothing in toilet water and putting feces on the floor and spitting,” Porter said. 

Hicks was eventually charged with second-degree breach of peace, third-degree criminal mischief and possession of drug paraphernalia with less than half an ounce of marijuana. He was released on $10,000 bond and sent to the hospital for erratic, violent behavior.