HUTCHINSON, Minn. — A Minnesota man is accused of trapping a police officer’s arm in his truck window while attempting to flee, and subsequently attacking him with the officer’s rescue hammer, authorities said.
Luke Alvin Oeltjenbruns, 61, of Hutchinson, was charged with first-degree assault with great bodily harm, according to McLeod County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.
According to a news release from Hutchinson Police Services, officers were called to a Menards home improvement store when a man, later identified as Oeltjenbruns, allegedly assaulted an employee with some lumber after a dispute over wearing a mask in the store, the Hutchinson Leader reported.
Oeltjenbruns allegedly left the store and was spotted by an officer in the parking lot of a nearby Walmart, WCCO reported. Oeltjenbruns led the officer on a slow-speed chase that ended near the Hutchinson Mall, the television station reported.
Officer Steven Sickmann, a 31-year veteran of the Hutchinson Police Department, spoke to Oeltjenbruns through the driver’s window, the Leader reported. Hutchinson Police Chief Tom Gifferson told CNN that Sickmann was standing on a running board on the driver’s side when Oeltjenbruns rolled up the window, trapping the officer’s arm.
Oeltjenbruns then left the scene at speeds up to 40 mph with the officer hanging onto the vehicle, according to the Leader.
Sickmann used a rescue hammer to shatter the truck window in order to free himself, CNN reported. Oeltjenbruns then gained possession of the hammer and allegedly hit the officer on the head with it.
Sickmann was taken to an area hospital and has since been released, the Leader reported.
According to the sheriff’s office, additional charges are being considered as the case remains under investigation, the newspaper reported.