A Richmond police officer narrowly avoided being crushed when his patrol car was rammed by a fleeing box truck on Monday night.
The police officer was on patrol when he saw a large box truck fail to stop at a stop sign. The officer attempted to stop the truck and learned the truck had been reported stolen, according to police.
The truck initially pulled over in the area of Esplanade and Scooner drives in the city’s Marina Bay neighborhood. The driver then ” purposely reversed into the officer’s patrol car, rammed it, and pushed it backward while the officer was trapped inside,” police said.
“The driver of the truck then attempted to drive over the hood of the patrol vehicle, but it became lodged on top of the hood of the patrol vehicle,” police said.
After failing to dislodge the truck, the suspect fled on foot with officers chasing him. While officers lost sight of the suspect, they established a perimeter and used an K9 team, which found him in a nearby yard. He was taken into custody after a brief struggle, police said.
The suspect, who was determined to be on active probation for possession of a stolen vehicle and also had active felony warrants for his arrest, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and possession of a stolen vehicle, police said.
The RPD expressed gratitude that the police officer in the patrol car wasn’t injured.
“The officer showed great restraint by exiting his patrol vehicle and moving to a position of safety, all while the suspect was actively trying to ram his vehicle and flee the scene,” police said. “This incident highlights how the officer deescalated a very dangerous incident by relying on his training and experience. It is also a reminder that a ‘routine’ car stop for running a stop sign can quickly become anything but routine.”
