Police in Alabama have released dramatic bodycam video after a woman was allegedly kidnapped at knifepoint and forced into a white van, leading to a chaotic pursuit.
It was a citizen who spotted the bleeding woman screaming “help, he’s going to kill me” as she was shoved into the van, Brookside police said in a statement.
When the van took off, police say the witness decided to follow it, giving police a description, direction and tag number in the process.
Police eventually caught up to the van on a local road and blocked it in, according to authorities. That’s when police say officers could see the woman, bleeding from her face and head, “being held against her will and forced to the floorboard by the suspect.”
But when police tried to get inside the truck, authorities say the suspect resisted, allegedly ramming into a police cruiser before fleeing again.
The pursuit continued. Police allege the suspect then tried to run over an officer, but the officer shot at the van and disabled it.
“The suspect crawled into the back of the van with the victim and held the victim at knifepoint, barricaded in the rear of the van,” police said in their statement.
“Officers attempted crisis negotiations with the suspect for more than 35 minutes as the female screamed for help inside the vehicle.”
While holding the woman hostage, police say the suspect demanded the officers kill him.
In the bodycam video, posted to Facebook by police, officers can be seen dragging the victim out of the back of the van by her legs.
She suffered “serious physical injury with cuts to the head and face,” police said. She remains in hospital.
“The suspect struck her in the head multiple times with a tire iron.”
A suspect was taken into custody while inside the vehicle.
The accused, identified as Sean E. Sanders of Los Angeles, has been charged with kidnapping, attempted murder on a police officer, resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
He has an “extensive criminal history,” police say, and is being held in jail on a $191,000 bond.
Images of the van provided by police show wire and blankets covering the rear windows of the van.
Police later commended the witness who reported the kidnapping.
“Without his vigilance and proactive response, we could be investigating a homicide.”