A man stole an ambulance and tried to run over an officer who shot him three times, leading to a low-speed chase through Philadelphia that lasted more than an hour Friday night, authorities said.
Authorities were called to a motel in northeast Philadelphia around 9.20pm for reports of a domestic disturbance involving a man and a woman that necessitated medical attention for one or more parties, Staff Inspector Sekou Kinebrew of Philadelphia police said.
The man became combative and jumped into the ambulance, driving at one of the officers who medics called for backup, Kinebrew said. The officer fired his weapon four times, striking the man three times: twice in the left leg and once in the side. The officer was struck by the ambulance and was hospitalised with injuries that Kinebrew described as non-life-threatening.
During the ensuing police pursuit that ended around 10.40pm, the ambulance travelled at speeds between 16km/h to 40km/h).
The distance between the locations and the beginning and end of the chase is less than 4km, but Kinebrew said the driver made several stops before he was eventually taken into custody without incident.
