SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Shocking new video shows the moment a police officer hit a suspect with their car in South Strabane Township.
South Strabane Township police say they arrested a man wanted on multiple warrants Tuesday afternoon.
Police say the suspect didn’t appear in court for charges related to aggravated animal cruelty and trespassing and they say his record shows he has violent tendencies.
Washington County community members are reacting to the video captured Tuesday along Trinity Point Drive, showing an officer hitting the suspect with a car before his arrest.
“It’s a little upsetting to watch,” said resident Melvin McRae.
In a statement released Tuesday night, South Strabane Township Police say when the officer made contact with the man he was trying to arrest, that man ran off. Police say that when the officer went back into his car, he chased him a short distance until the officer’s car and he contacted each other knocking the man to the ground.
“He got in the car so I feel like he could’ve ran after him if he had time to get in the car,” Elena Sciulli said.
Police say they called for an ambulance to treat the man’s minor injuries in the department’s holding cell. That man, whose name isn’t being released, was taken to the hospital where he was treated, released and then sent to the Washington County Jail.
“I don’t think that was necessary. I don’t think that was the way to stop him,” Sciulli said.
“Yeah I understand force may have been necessary because he was running, I don’t think we needed to hit him with a car,” said McRae.
In a media release police said, “Our goal is to determine exactly what happened here. We have a responsibility to protect the public, and to ensure that our policies, procedures, and the law are followed.”
South Strabane Township police say they’re working with an independent police department and with the district attorney to investigate.
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