Shocking videos appear to show the moment a police officer was struck by a vehicle in Toronto earlier this week during an attempted takedown of two auto theft suspects.
At around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, York Regional Police said that officers from their auto cargo theft unit and integrated property crime task force found two stolen vehicles in the area of Overlea Boulevard and Thorncliffe Park Drive in Toronto.
In a news release Friday, police said officers moved in to arrest two suspects and one of them was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit.
“The second suspect entered a vehicle and drove at police, striking both a police vehicle and an officer,” the release said.
Police released video clips from what looks like two separate surveillance cameras showing the moment the officer was struck.
After the collision, the suspect crashed the vehicle into a building nearby and fled on foot, police said.
The officer who was hit wasn’t seriously injured. Police said he was taken to a hospital nearby to be treated for minor injuries and was released.
Investigators are now asking anyone with information on the suspect’s identity to come forward.
Police described the suspect as a male with a thin build, around five-foot-eight with black hair.
Meanwhile, the individual who was arrested faces a number of charges including two counts of failing to comply with an undertaking, two counts of theft of a motor vehicle, three counts of possession of property obtained by crime, two counts of trafficking property obtained by crime and two counts of possessing an automobile master key.