Video: 2 Conn. Police Officers Injured by Fleeing Driver in Stolen Car

By Jessica Bravo

Source Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.

NEW BRITAIN, CT — A 39-year-old man injured two city cops as he tried to evade them while operating a stolen vehicle on Friday, police said.

New Britain police said Christopher Criss was taken into custody and charged with assault on police, first-degree larceny and several other charges related to the incident.

Officers responded to a gas station near Corbin Avenue at around 10 p.m. after receiving reports of a man asleep behind the wheel of a car at a pump, police said. Officers were informed the same vehicle struck two Berlin police cruisers earlier in the evening and evaded cops there.

Criss drove away from officers as they approached him, police said. In the process of evading, police said he rammed into both of their cruisers and one of the cops was struck by the car's door.

A video, captured by a witness, shows Criss driving forward and then reversing in an attempt to get away from two officers. The video shows one officer get pinned between the car's door and a steel beam as the motorist reverses. The officer is seen running away from the car, as it strikes the front of the cruiser.

One officer, out of the three or four at the scene, draws a firearm at the car in the video. The motorist is then seen driving over a curb and speeding off, with a door still open and another officer's legs hanging out.

Police said Criss crashed after he lost control of the vehicle he was operating and struck a parked car outside a Governor Street residence. Criss was apprehended shortly after the crash.

Both officers were treated at a nearby hospital, police said. It was unclear what type of injuries both officers sustained.

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