Auto burglars in stolen car flee from police, nearly hit officer
The officer had to get out of the way "quickly" to avoid being hit, BPD said.
Auto burglars fleeing from police in Berkeley on Friday morning nearly struck an officer who was trying to use "stop sticks" to deflate their tires, authorities said.
The incident began in downtown Berkeley on the southeast corner of Shattuck Avenue near Haste Street when two people in a stolen white Lexus pulled up next to a parked vehicle at about 7:30 a.m., police said.
A passenger got out and smashed the window of the parked vehicle, then grabbed two bags from it, according to Berkeley police.
The auto burglars left the neighborhood but police spotted them in the Berkeley Hills near The Arlington at about 8:10 a.m., BPD said.
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Officers tried to stop the Lexus on Marin Avenue at The Circle but the driver sped off, heading south on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, police said.
An officer then began trying to set up a tire-deflation device called "stop sticks" on MLK at Woolsey Street, BPD said.
When the driver got to the intersection, he "turned in the direction of the officer" who had to "quickly get out of the way" to avoid being hit, police said.
The driver, who continued south, "lost control" and rear-ended a motorist who had stopped on MLK at Adeline Street, authorities said. Then he sped off into Oakland.
The case remains under investigation, BPD said this week.
Editor's Note: The officer was unable to set up the stop sticks before the driver passed him. BPD said the officer got out of the way "quickly" but did not have to jump. The story has been corrected.
