A police pursuit of a suspected car thief Monday night ended with two police vehicles intentionally hitting the stolen vehicle on Oak Street to make it stop, VicPD said Tuesday.
The suspect attempted to flee on foot but was caught by officers, police said. He resisted arrest and several officers were required to safely take him into custody, police said.
Police said in a statement that the incident began when officers responded to a call reporting a break-in at a business in the 700-block of Summit Avenue just before 9 p.m.
Officers saw a man in the building who got into a vehicle and drove away, narrowly missing an officer before striking a metal fence and sending it flying into oncoming traffic on Douglas Street, police said.
Officers lost sight of the vehicle as it drove northbound, but shortly after, someone called police to report seeing a person driving dangerously, police said.
An officer with a police dog found the stolen vehicle in a parking lot on the 700-block of Finlayson Street, police said.
Officers tried to block the person from driving away, but the driver hit a police vehicle with the stolen car and fled, police said.
Officers continued to monitor the vehicle while assessing the risk the driver posed to public safety, ultimately determining that the driver had to be stopped after observing “numerous instances of dangerous driving endangering both the public and the police,” VicPD said.
Police authorized and planned a vehicle pursuit.
About an hour after the incident began, two VicPD vehicles “made intentional contact” with the driver in the stolen vehicle, police said.
One officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
A VicPD spokesperson said the force was not able to provide specific details, including what instances of dangerous driving officers observed, how an officer was injured and how two police vehicles connected with the stolen car, because the incident is now before the courts.
The man was in custody awaiting a court appearance Tuesday afternoon.
