Police Dog To The Rescue After California Deputy's Car Rammed
CONTRA COSTA TIMES via Knight Ridder
Authorities say a 15-year-old driver twice rammed a Contra Costa sheriff's patrol car during a chase Wednesday night before bailing out of his vehicle and getting bitten by a police dog.
The deputy was not injured. The suspect was treated and released at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek for minor injuries before authorities booked him into Juvenile Hall in Martinez.
A deputy patrolling in North Richmond spotted a 2005 Buick heading west on Sanford Avenue at 5:28 p.m. and, after checking its license plate, found that it had been reported stolen in Berkeley, Sheriff's Lt. Charles Skuce said.
The driver would not yield and the deputy chased him about half a mile to the 1200 block of Sanford, where the road ends.
"The driver then put the car in reverse and rams the deputy's car. He did this twice," Skuce said.
The strategy failed. The deputy called for help and the suspect jumped out of the Buick and ran away.
Minutes later a police dog found the suspect, whom deputies did not identify, and when he tried to evade the police dog it bit him, Skuce said.
Deputies arrested the teen on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest, auto theft and possessing stolen property. He also had a no-bail warrant from Alameda County on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, auto theft and possessing stolen property.
-- Karl Fischer
Im my agency a K9 cannot be used in a case involving juvenile suspects under any circumstances.