NORMANDY, Mo. --A Normandy police officer was hospitalized overnight after cutting his head and getting about 500 stitches after tackling a juvenile burglary suspect.
The incident happened at about 1 p.m. Monday in the 7700 block of Contour Drive in Normandy. Residents called police after they noticed two juvenile boys trying doors on houses where they thought nobody was at home.
Two Normandy police officers responded and chased after them on foot. They caught both suspects, but when one of the officers tackled one of the suspects, he slid head-first into some metal edging, said Normandy Police Chief Frank Mininni.
The citizens gave the officer first aid for the large cut to his head until other emergency responders could arrive. The juvenile he tackled suffered a probable fractured wrist during the encounter. Both of them, which Mininni guessed to be about 14 years old, were turned over to juvenile authorities.
The officer, who has been with the department about a year and a half, is expected to be okay. "At first I think he was in shock," said Mininni. "After he got the stitches, after he figured everything was going to be okay, his spirits definitely took a turn for the better."
Copyright 2013 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
