Officer struck by stolen car, police say

Suspect escaped after crashing into Farmington woods

A Farmington officer was seriously injured early Monday when he was struck by a fleeing suspect in a stolen car, police said.

The officer was responding to a call that came in about 12:50 a.m., from a condo resident who said thieves were stealing from a car on Talcott Forest Road, according to a release from the department.

The officer arrived at the scene, blocked the suspect vehicle and got out of his police car to try to talk to the suspected thief. But the suspect rammed the patrol car, pinning him between the two vehicles, and sped off, police said.

Other officers chased the getaway car a short distance before it crashed into some nearby woods, but the suspect bailed out and ran away, police said. Police dog teams searched for the suspect, but were not able to find the thief. It wasn’t clear how many suspects were involved.

Police believe the suspect was stealing catalytic converters from cars in the condominium parking lot, Lt Timothy Mckenzie said at a news conference. Thefts of the devices, which are attached to vehicles’ undercarriages and contain valuable precious metals, have soared nationally in recent months.

“It’s where a lot of catalytic converter thefts had been happening,” Mckenzie said. “I believe they did steal one catalytic converter and that’s why we were sent up there.”

Officers learned the car that hit the officer had been stolen from its owner in Middletown.

The officer suffered serious injuries to his legs but was expected to survive.

“He’s in a lot of pain, Mckenzie said. “It is a miracle he didn’t suffer anything more serious than he did.”

The officer wasn’t able to get a good look at the suspect before he was struck, but police are going through dashboard camera and surveillance camera footage in an attempt to identify the thief, he said.

The officer has been with the department 3 ½ years, Mckenzie said.

“I just left roll call now,” he said. “It’s solemn. The officers were all texting and reaching out to the officer in the hospital.”