Police say they were called after Brooks got into some kind of dispute with a tow truck driver near Barstow Thursday. When officers arrived, Brooks sped off, leading them on a chase that spanned close to 30 miles. During the pursuit, Brooks allegedly threw a number of metal objects out of his car toward officers.
Officers spiked the left front wheel on Interstate 15 at Stoddard Wells. Police say Brooks got out but refused to obey commands. Officers released the K-9, and 41-year-old Brooks got back into the SUV. Then an officer used a bean bag to shoot out the SUV's back window to bring him out, but authorities say he continued to resist arrest while being handcuffed. Officers ended up using a Taser.
"I had a better angle of them, and you could see him struggling and fighting, and he wasn't going to give up," said Jennifer Simpson, who witnessed the incident. "I saw it on video, and it looked brutal, but from my angle, he was really fighting, and I think that what they did to get him to calm down was completely justified."
Brooks was taken to a San Bernardino County jail in Rancho Cucamonga and is being held on $100,000 bail.
This was the third time Brooks has been arrested since January.
The North Las Vegas Democrat became the first lawmaker ever expelled from the Nevada Legislature on Thursday.
Brooks had served in the Nevada State Assembly since 2010, but people around him said he often showed signs of erratic behavior, even allegedly threatening the life of another state assembly member. Then last month, he was arrested in northwest Las Vegas for domestic violence and obstructing a police officer.
After the vote to expel him, Brooks said in a phone call, "Thieves and liars, and the reason why they want me out, because they can't blackmail me, and I'm too good to blackmail anyone at that place, you can tell them they can eat [expletive]."
Assembly Majority Leader William Horne, D-Las Vegas, called him "potentially dangerous" and said lawmakers didn't feel safe with him in the building.
"This really saddens me," Horne said Friday, after learning of the arrest. "I hope they get Steven the help he clearly needs before he or someone else is hurt or worse."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
