Charges: Luke Oeltjenbruns Dragged Police Officer With Truck, Struck Him With Hammer

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Hutchinson man has been charged for allegedly dragging a police officer with his truck and striking him with a hammer.

Luke Alvin Oeltjenbruns, 61, faces one charge of first-degree assault, two charges of second-degree assault, and one charge of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.

According to the criminal complaint, shortly before 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Hutchinson Police Officer Steven Sickmann and another sergeant were dispatched to the Menards on the report of an assault.

A store employee said he was working a register when a man - later identified as Oeltjenbruns - approached the checkout without a mask. The employee told him he could not check out without putting on a mask, and Oeltjenbruns then struck the employee six or seven times over the head with one of the furring strips in his cart.

The employee described Oeltjenbruns as an older white man with a grey beard, baseball hat, dark coat, and jeans.

The complaint says another Hutchinson officer found Oeltjenbruns' truck in a nearby Walmart parking lot while Sickmann and the sergeant were still investigating at Menards. The officer tried to stop the truck and squawked the siren, but the truck continued to drive.

The slow-speed chase continued north, coming to a stop at South Grade Road and Highway 15 south. There, the officer, sergeant, and Sickmann approached the car with their weapons drawn.

The complaint says that when the officer told Oeltjenbruns he was at gunpoint, Oeltjenbruns said he "did not care" and said "to shoot him." He then continued driving, with officers following him.

Sickmann blocked the intersection of Highway 15 south and Freemont Ave southeast with his squad car, and the officers surrounded Oeltjenbruns.

When told again to get out of the car, Oeltjenbruns said "no" and shook his head.

RELATED: Police: Man Drags Hutchinson Officer With Vehicle, Hits Him With Hammer After Face Mask Dispute

Sickmann told Oeltjenbruns that he matched the description of an assault suspect at the Menards, but he refused to comply, and officers told him that they would break his window to get him out of the truck.

Sickmann then got up on the running board of the driver's side of the truck and reached in through the window. Oeltjenbruns grabbed Sickmann's right arm and closed the window on it, then drove the truck into a squad car.

Officers tried to block him from fleeing, but he continued to ram into the squads.

He eventually came to a stop at the intersection of Highway 15 and South Grade Road, which is when Sickmann was able to retrieve a rescue hammer used for breaking windows. But Oeltjenbruns allegedly took the hammer and struck him on top of the head with it.

The complaint says Sickmann was taken to the hospital and received eight metal staples on his head, and had a large abrasion on his right inner arm area from his shoulder to lower arm.

According to Hutchinson Police Chief Tom Gifferson, Sickmann had been with the department for 31 years. He is recovering at home.

If convicted on all counts, Oeltjenbruns could face up to 42 years in prison. His bail is set at $100,000 cash, or a $500,000 bond.