Motorist Taken Into Custody After Multi-City Police Chase; Pedestrian Struck
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Police have taken a person into custody after a police chase that happened in the south metro area Thursday morning.
Police say that the suspect stole a taxi near 9th Street and Nicollet Avenue around 9 a.m., and ultimately led police on a multi-city chase. Police from Edina and Richfield were also involved in the incident.
Police said the chase began near 50th and Xerxes. After an attempted pullover, the suspect ran into the squad car behind the taxi and then struck an officer on foot before fleeing at high speeds.
The squad chase was called off for public safety reasons after the cab started driving on a bike path near Lake Harriet, but the suspect was being monitored from the air, and officers moved to position themselves in case the suspect fled from the vehicle on foot.
Authorities report that, at one point during the pursuit, the vehicle struck a pedestrian on Portland and 18th Street, backed up, and ran over the pedestrian a second time.
Police tried to box the suspect in at 18th and Chicago, but the driver rammed a squad car and continued into downtown Minneapolis.
The suspect drove into the underground ramp of the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse, through the facilities metal doors. That's where the driver was taken into custody by arresting officers.
The suspect was described as a 30-year-old man. He's expected to face charges of criminal vehicular operation, bodily harm, theft of a motor vehicle, assault, fleeing a police officer, and damage to property.
Police said the officer who was struck only sustained minor injuries. The pedestrian -- a man in his 30s -- was listed in serious but stable condition at Hennepin Healthcare, and is expected to survive his injuries.