4/7/21 East Hartford, CT – 15 Year Old In Stolen Car Rams 2 Police Cars – Injures Officers – Steals A Police Car – Chase Called Off – Found – Suspect Floored It In Reverse – Hits Pole – Many Wrecked Police Cars

April 7, 2021

www.courant.com

A 15-year-old is under arrest after he used a stolen car to ram two patrol vehicles in East Hartford Tuesday night — and then stole one of them. The teen fled cops in car and foot chases before being apprehended, police said.

Two officers were injured, one with what may be a broken wrist, Lt. John Dupont said. Two juveniles who were with the teen got away.

The 15-year-old boy, a juvenile, was held after his arrest because of a “take into custody order,” Dupont said.

The series of violent events started during the evening shift when an officer spotted a stolen car on Park Avenue.

“The [stolen] vehicle ended up ramming her,” Dupont said. The car fled north on Main Street, and a second officer pursued it before breaking off the chase. The officer was treated at the hospital and released.

The teen later returned to the Park Avenue area in the same stolen car, police said. A third officer spotted it pulling behind a warehouse near the intersection with Franklin Street, relayed that information to headquarters and followed it.

As the officer drove down an alley between two warehouses, the stolen car suddenly appeared, heading toward him. The teen driver “purposely rams the cruiser, causing him injury,” Dupont said.

The stolen car was disabled and the 15-year-old and two juvenile passengers got out and ran, he said. Despite the officer’s injured wrist, he ran after them, and he and the 15-year-old made their way around the outside of the warehouse, circling back to the damaged cars.

The 15-year-old got into the police car, put it in reverse and floored it, backing down the alley and slamming into a utility pole, Dupont said. The wires then fell on the injured officer.

The teen ran again, but a police dog eventually found him, Dupont said