Hastings police chase ends in gunfire

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A police chase through Hastings ended in a shooting just after 8 p.m. Wednesday at Vermillion and Fourth streets.

The suspect, an adult male, was shot several times by law enforcement officers and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, according to Dakota County Chief Deputy Dave Bellows. As of Wednesday night, he was still alive, Bellows said. His identity has not been released, but Bellows said there was a warrant out for his arrest. A spokesperson from the Department of Corrections said he was on supervised release from prison.

Law enforcement officers were alerted about a stolen vehicle Wednesday night. Bellows said they were told the man driving the vehicle, a tan Chevrolet truck, may be armed and was threatening to kill police officers.

A Dakota County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the vehicle near Highway 316 and Vermillion Street and attempted to stop it. The vehicle didn’t stop, and near Vermillion and 12th streets, officers tried a “box maneuver,” where squad cars attempt to box in a vehicle. The suspect then rammed the law enforcement vehicles with the truck in an attempt to escape. At that time, a Hastings police officer fired shots at the suspect’s vehicle, Bellows said.

“He’s trying to ram a squad car to get out of it (the box), and that’s a deadly force situation,” Bellows said.

The suspect got out of the box, and led police on a chase through residential areas of Hastings.

The suspect was eastbound on W. Fourth Street approaching Vermillion Street when officers tried another box maneuver. The suspect continued to ram squad cars with the truck in an attempt to escape.

At that time, Dakota County Sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Department of Corrections fired shots at the suspect and struck him several times. He was then taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul by Hastings ambulance. A gun was found in the suspect’s vehicle, but it is unknown if he fired back at the officers.

Three Dakota County Sheriff’s deputies and one Hastings police officer were placed on standard administrative leave following the incident, which is normal procedure after a shooting.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was on the scene investigating Thursday morning. Bellows said the case is complicated because there were three law enforcement agencies involved and at least two scenes where shots were fired.

“In 30 years, I have never seen a case like this,” he said.

Vermillion Street between 15th Street and Highway 55 was closed to traffic following the incident and remained closed until shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday morning.

More information will be posted as it become available.

Tags: crime and courts, hastings, police, shooting, crime